USS Montana (SSN-794)

Montana (SSN-794) is a Virginia-class submarine of the United States Navy. She will honor the U.S. State of Montana. Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus announced the name on 3 September 2015 at a ceremony hosted in Billings, Montana with U.S. Senator Jon Tester. She will be only the second commissioned warship to bear the name.[5]

For other ships with the same name, see USS Montana.
USS Montana (SSN-794)
Lead boat of Virginia class, USS Virginia (SSN-774)
History
United States
Name: USS Montana
Namesake: State of Montana
Ordered: 28 April 2014[1]
Builder: Newport News Shipbuilding, Newport News, Virginia
Laid down: 16 May 2018[2]
Sponsored by: Sally Jewell
Christened: 12 September 2020[3]
Identification: Hull symbol:SSN-794
Status: under construction[1]
General characteristics
Class and type: Virginia-class submarine
Displacement: 7,800 tons
Length: 377 ft (115 m)[4]
Beam: 34 ft (10.4 m)[4]
Draft: 32 ft (9.8 m)[4]
Propulsion: S9G reactor auxiliary diesel engine
Speed: 25 knots (46 km/h)
Endurance: can remain submerged for up to 3 months
Test depth: greater than 800 ft (244 m)
Complement:
  • 15 officers
  • 120 enlisted men
Armament: 12 VLS tubes, four 21 inch (530 mm) torpedo tubes for Mk-48 torpedoes BGM-109 Tomahawk

A contract modification for USS Oregon (SSN-793), Montana (SSN-794), and USS Hyman G. Rickover (SSN-795) was initially awarded to General Dynamics Electric Boat for $594.7 million in April 2012. On 23 December 2014, they were awarded an additional $121.8 million contract modification to buy long lead-time material for the three Virginia-class submarines.[6] The U.S. Navy awarded General Dynamics Electric Boat the contract to construct 10 Block IV Virginia-class submarines for $17.6 billion on 28 April 2014. The tenth boat is scheduled for delivery in 2023.[4]

Construction of Montana began in May 2015 at Huntington Ingalls Newport News Shipbuilding in Virginia. Contract completion date was expected to be in May 2020, but this was delayed because of the COVID pandemic.[7][8]

Montana's sponsor and former U.S. Interior Secretary Sally Jewell christened the vessel on 12 September 2020 at Huntington Ingalls Newport News Shipbuilding. Despite the COVID pandemic, the virtual ceremony went well. Montana was rolled out on October 15, 2020 and will be delivered to the Navy by mid-2021.[9]

References
  1. "Naval Vessel Register".
  2. "Huntington Ingalls Industries Authenticates Keel of Submarine Montana (SSN 794)" (Press release). Huntington Ingalls Industries. 16 May 2018. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
  3. "Virginia-Class Submarine Montana (SSN 794) Christened during Virtual Ceremony at Newport News Shipbuilding" (Press release). Huntington Ingalls Industries. 12 September 2020. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
  4. "SSN 774 Virginia class submarine". bga-aeroweb.com. Retrieved 8 April 2015.
  5. "US Navy Submarine will be named U.S.S Montana". KXLH News. 3 September 2015. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  6. Snider, John (8 January 2015). "Shipbuilding News, January 2014". Professional Mariner. Retrieved 8 April 2015.
  7. Riley, John. "Montana flag presented to U.S. Navy for namesake submarine". KTVQ.com. KTVQ. Retrieved 27 October 2017.
  8. "The Ship". USS Montana Committee. USS Montana Committee. Retrieved 27 October 2017.
  9. staff, KECI (12 September 2020). "Virtual USS Montana submarine christening ceremony held". KECI. Retrieved 13 September 2020.

Further reading
  • Christley, Jim. US Nuclear Submarines: The Fast Attack. Oxford: Osprey Pub., 2007. ISBN 1-846-03168-0 OCLC 141383046
  • Clancy, Tom, and John Gresham. Submarine: A Guided Tour Inside a Nuclear Warship. New York, N.Y.: Berkley Books, 2002. ISBN 0-425-18300-9 OCLC 48749330


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