Navy
Future USS Arkansas, the latest Virginia-class submarine, christened
Staff and wire reports
December 9, 2024
HII christened Virginia-class submarine Arkansas (SSN 800) at the company’s Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS) division Saturday, Dec. 7, 2024. (hris Rose/HII)
The future Virginia-class attack submarine USS Arkansas was christened Saturday in Newport News, Va.
The ship’s sponsors are the Little Rock Nine, Black students who desegregated all-white Little Rock Central High School in 1957. Carlotta Walls LaNier, one the Little Rock Nine, did the honors by breaking a bottle of sparkling wine on the hull at HII-Newport News Shipbuilding.
“History is full of groups of collective people who come together to make something happen,” LaNier said, according to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. “Many people are behind the submarine that we christened today. It’s similar to the quote on our currency, E pluribus unum — ‘Out of many, one.’ We have SSN 800, but many participated in the reality of it being here today.”
The future USS Arkansas will be the 27th Virginia-class submarine and the fifth naval vessel to bear the name Arkansas. The original Arkansas was a Civil War-era screw steamer, according to the Navy. In 1902, an Arkansas-class monitor, one of the last monitors in the Navy, was christened with the same name. The third Arkansas, a Wyoming-class battleship, was christened in 1912. The fourth Arkansas, which served from 1980 until 1998, was a Virginia-class nuclear-powered guided missile cruiser.
Virginia-class submarines are designed to operate in both near the shore and in deep waters while conducting a variety of missions, including anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface ship warfare, strike warfare, special operations forces support, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, irregular warfare and mine warfare, according to the Navy.
“The christening of Arkansas demonstrates the power of innovation and the dedication of our shipbuilders,” said Cmdr. Michael Huber, commanding officer of the pre-commissioning unit. “Today, Arkansas is one step closer to sailing away from our shores, building on the brave example set by her sponsors, defending American ideals and protecting freedom around the world.”
Contributing: The Associated Press