I just saw this on the news that they commissioned this sub I thought it was pretty neat, especially for Iowa.

https://www.sublant.usff.navy.mil/SSN797/

Very cool!

I hope we build a lot more of them!

Great post, thanks for the information!

I see that they have already commissioned an Iowa, a New Jersey and a Missouri in the class.
I wonder if a Wisconsin is in the works.

There will be a USS Wisconsin, but it will be the second boat of the new Columbia class of ballistic missile submarines. Different design and mission from the Virginia class attack submarines Iowa, New Jersey, and Missouri.

Don't worry, several more on the way.

I hope they do build more, what’s a little confusing is the last uss Iowa was a battleship then now these are the Virginia class subs it’s hard to keep straight what state name means what.

Thanks for sharing!! Its interesting to see what the Navy considers 'capital" ships that deserve the name of a state on them. In the steel ship era, battleships first carried a state name. By and certainly into WWII, carriers had eclipsed battleships as the most important "capital" ships of the fleet but none of them had state names. With the rise of the ballistic missile submarine of the Cold War, the third generation of them started being named after states in the late 1970s, the "Ohio" class. Fast attack subs of that era were named after major cities, just as heavy cruisers had been named during the World Wars. Fast forward towards today, it appears that state names are being given to both attack and ballistic missile subs. The new USS South Dakota is a bit older than the newer USS Iowa, but both attack subs.

I haven't kept up and was surprised how many of these "Virginia" class attack subs are out there. Sort of ironic how the 3 battleship classes that were new to WWII (North Carolina class-2, South Dakota class-4, Iowa class-4) show up again as "sister" ships in this class of submarines. The North Carolina and Washington were sister BB and now are sister SSN as where the BB South Dakota, Indiana, and Massachusetts. The Iowa, New Jersey, and Iowa are also again sister ships from BBs to SSNs. Interesting...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia-class_submarine

Cool.

There is also a West Virginia sub out there someplace.

Do the attack boats now have tomahawk capability? I believe that was the rationale for the Ohio class missile boats, that they could strike strategic land based targets. If so that's pretty spooky as some of these attack boats are reported to have been able to slip into first sand bar distance from some of our adversaries.

While the boomers can hide at standoff distance the launch itself is observable and an early warning. Tomahawks at point blank range not so much.

Pretty sure that the attack subs have been able to launch Tomahawks for a good while. Probably since the Los Angeles class.

Ohio class subs have 24 long range nuclear missiles that can be fired underwater, 18,000 mph they go, across continents , I believe 2dz them subs plus some other ones that have nuclear missles, not sure how many warheads on each missle but carry more 1, I believe tomahawks are not that big an small explosive but expensive an for target that pinpoint or hit exactly

Oh I know a tomahawk isn't an intercontinental ballistic but it's that point blank pinpoint targeting I'd be worried about if I knew Uncle Sam was after me. You'd never see it coming.

Four Ohio Class submarines have been converted from carrying Ballistic missiles (SSBNs) to carrying Tomahawks (SSGNs).

The second and third flight boats of the LA Class were outfitted with VLS tubes for launching Tomahawks.