The US Navy has declared USS Massachusetts (SSN 798), the seventh Block IV Virginia-class nuclear-powered fast-attack submarine, ready for Fleet tasking.
The US Navy has declared USS Massachusetts (SSN 798), the seventh Block IV Virginia-class nuclear-powered fast-attack submarine, ready for Fleet tasking.
During its shakedown trials, SSN 798 reportedly showed excellent condition and readiness for combat operations, prompting the navy to skip the vessel undergoing the usual post-shakedown availability — a period of maintenance to fix problems discovered during testing.
Waiving the availability is a “calculated risk” but does not compromise sailor or submarine safety, said Vice Adm. Rob Gaucher, Director of Submarine Programs.
It also enables the navy to receive a new combat capability faster, while enabling the shipbuilders to work on other submarines, according to Gaucher.
HII’s Newport News Shipbuilding delivered USS Massachusetts in November 2025, and the submarine was commissioned in March 2026 in Boston Harbor.
“USS Massachusetts is ready to fight, and that is exactly where we need her, in the hands of our Sailors and available to the Fleet,” said Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Daryl Caudle.
Virginia-Class Submarine
Virginia-class submarines will replace the Los Angeles class and perform anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare, land attack, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance, and special operations support missions.
The program is planned and built across six distinct blocks that incrementally upgrade design, technology, and firepower.
The first four blocks share the same baseline length of 377 feet (115 meters), while the Block V and VI submarines expand to 460 feet (140 meters) due to the addition of the Virginia Payload Module.
More than 25 out of 43 are already in active service, following the commissioning of the 26th Virginia-class submarine — the eighth Block IV submarine — in April.
