Navy's next Virginia-class submarine named USS Montana

Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus was in Billings, Montana, on Wednesday to host a ship-naming ceremony, in which the planned Virginia-class attack submarine SSN 794 was christened the USS Montana.

The completed submarine will weigh in at 7,800 tons and run 377 feet in length. The sub will be able to operate at more than 25 knots submerged. It is designed to use a reactor that will not require refueling during the planned life of the ship, reducing life-cycle costs while increasing underway time.

The new USS Montana will be built under a partnership between General Dynamics Electric Boat (GDEB) and Huntington Ingalls Industries' Newport News Shipbuilding division.

Virginia-class subs are designed to provide the Navy with enhanced stealth, sophisticated surveillance capabilities and special warfare enhancements to meet the Navy's multi-mission requirements well into the future.

Virginia-class submarines also can attack targets with Tomahawk cruise missiles and conduct covert, long-term surveillance of land areas, littoral waters or other sea-based forces. They are also capable of anti-submarine and anti-ship warfare, mine delivery and minefield mapping.

The future USS Montana will be the second commissioned naval vessel to bear the name. The first was a cruiser commissioned in 1908 that operated largely off the East Coast of the U.S. and in the Caribbean. That historic ship transported supplies and men throughout World War I. After the war, the cruiser made six round trips to Europe to bring back 8,800 American troops.