One Day, Two Milestones Shipbuilders recently achieved pressure hull complete on New Jersey (SSN 796), the 23rd Virginia-class submarine. Photo by Matt Hildreth

One Day, Two Milestones

Published March 9, 2021

The Virginia-Class Submarine Program at Newport News Shipbuilding recently celebrated milestones for two different submarines – Montana (SSN 794) and New Jersey (SSN 796) – on the same day.

Shipbuilders working on New Jersey reached pressure hull complete, meaning that all of its hull sections were joined to form a single, watertight unit. Meanwhile, Montana was launched into the James River for the first time.

The Floating Dry Dock, where Montana had been since being transferred from a construction facility in October, was flooded and the submarine was moved by tugboats to a pier for final outfitting, testing and crew certification.

“For our shipbuilders, launching Montana signifies five years of hard work, commitment and dedicated service,” said Jason Ward, vice president of Virginia-Class Submarine Construction. “We look forward to executing our waterborne test program, and working toward sea trials and delivering the submarine to the Navy later this year.”

New Jersey’s pressure hull complete milestone moves the submarine one step closer to christening. Both submarines are being constructed through a teaming agreement with General Dynamics Electric Boat. Montana is scheduled for delivery to the Navy late this year. New Jersey’s delivery is scheduled for late 2022.

Watch a video of Montana’s launch on MyNNS.