Overview
- Over several days at sea, Newport News Shipbuilding and U.S. Navy crews tested systems including the first submergence and high-speed maneuvers on the surface and underwater.
- The completed builder’s trials constitute an early milestone before subsequent testing phases and Navy acceptance.
- Massachusetts is the 25th Virginia-class submarine and the 12th built by Newport News Shipbuilding, following its christening in May 2023.
- Virginia-class attack submarines support missions that include anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare, Tomahawk strikes, intelligence collection, mine warfare, and Special Operations deployment.
- The Virginia class is produced by Newport News Shipbuilding and General Dynamics Electric Boat, the two U.S. shipyards capable of constructing nuclear-powered submarines.