Editor\u2019s note: A previous version of this story misstated the number of Virginia-class submarines in service and the USS Massachusetts\u2019 order in the Block IV. There are 25 submarines, and the Massachusetts is 7th.<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n
The U.S. Navy officially commissioned its newest nuclear attack submarine during a Saturday ceremony at Boston Harbor, the service announced<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The USS Massachusetts, \u2014 which weighs 7,800 tons and is 377 feet long \u2014 is the 25th Virginia-class submarine and the fifth to be named after the U.S. state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cTo the crew, the plank owners, the \u2018Iron Patriots\u2019 of the USS Massachusetts, we did it,\u201d said Cmdr. Michael Siedsma, the Massachusetts\u2019 commanding officer. \u201cI am amazed and humbled by what we have accomplished.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The submarine was christened at Newport News Shipbuilding yard in Newport News, Virginia, on May 6, 2023. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Prior to the newest iteration, the most recent Navy vessel named after the New England state was a battleship that contributed to military campaigns in the Pacific between 1943 and 1945 and garnered 11 battle stars during its World War II deployment.<\/p>\n\n\n\t