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USS Indiana Nuclear-Powered Fast Attack Submarine to be Commissioned at Port Canaveral Today

By  //  September 29, 2018

submarine is most advanced to ever serve America

ABOVE VIDEO: The U.S. Navy will commission the USS Indiana, a Virginia-class nuclear-powered fast attack submarine, Saturday at Port Canaveral. (Huntington Ingalls Industries video)

BREVARD COUNTY • PORT CANAVERAL, FLORIDA – The Navy’s newest fast-attack submarine, the USS Indiana (SSN 789), will be commissioned at the Navy Port at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Port Canaveral, Florida, on Saturday.

It will be the 16th Virginia-class submarine to join the fleet.

Indiana will be the third U.S. Navy ship, and first submarine, to be commissioned with a name honoring the state of Indiana. Diane Donald, the wife of retired Adm. Kirkland H. Donald, is the ship’s sponsor.

Designed to operate in both coastal and deep-ocean environments, Indiana will present leadership with a broad and unique range of capabilities, including anti-submarine warfare; anti-surface ship warfare; strike warfare; special operation forces (SOF) support; intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance; irregular warfare; and mine warfare missions.

The Navy’s newest fast-attack submarine, the USS Indiana (SSN 789), will be commissioned at the Navy Port at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Port Canaveral, Florida, on Saturday.
Virginia-class submarines will have enhanced stealth, sophisticated surveillance capabilities, and special warfare enhancements that will enable them to meet the Navy’s multi-mission requirements.
VIDEO: USS Indiana Nuclear-Powered Fast Attack Submarine to be Commissioned at Port CanaveralRelated Story:
VIDEO: USS Indiana Nuclear-Powered Fast Attack Submarine to be Commissioned at Port Canaveral

Indiana is a part of the Virginia-class’ third, or Block III, contract, in which the Navy redesigned approximately 20 percent of the ship to reduce acquisition costs.

Indiana features a redesigned bow, which replaces 12 individual Vertical Launch System tubes with two large-diameter Virginia Payload Tubes each capable of launching six Tomahawk cruise missiles, among other design changes that reduced the submarines’ acquisition cost while maintaining their outstanding warfighting capabilities.

Indiana has special features to support SOF, including a reconfigurable torpedo room which can accommodate a large number of SOF and all their equipment for prolonged deployments and future off-board payloads.

Also, in Virginia-class SSNs, traditional periscopes have been replaced by two photonics masts that host visible and infrared digital cameras atop telescoping arms.

Through the extensive use of modular construction, open architecture and commercial off-the-shelf components, the Virginia class is designed to remain at the cutting edge for its entire operational life through the rapid introduction of new systems and payloads.

“This submarine is the most advanced to ever serve America,” said Vice President Pence. “The steel within her skeleton — all 7,600 tons — and the steel in the hearts of her crew form the unbreakable, unshakeable backbone of American freedom.

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The USS Indiana’s keel was laid in May 2015, launched on June 9, 2017, and was christened during a ceremony held with Vice President Mike Pence in attendance at the shipyard of Huntington Ingalls Newport News, Virginia.

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