HII Christens Virginia-Class Attack Submarine Massachusetts (SSN 798)

By: City of Newport News

HII (formerly Huntington Ingalls Industries) christened the Virginia-class submarine Massachusetts (SSN 798) at the company’s Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS) division Saturday, May 6. Massachusetts is the 25th Virginia-class submarine and the 12th to be delivered by NNS. 

Sheryl Sandberg, founder and chair of the Sandberg Goldberg Bernthal Family Foundation, and former chief operating officer of Meta (formerly Facebook), serves as the ship’s sponsor. Sandberg performed the traditional honor of breaking a bottle of American sparkling wine across the submarine’s bow during the ceremony.

The ceremony took place outside of Module Outfitting Facility at NNS and was attended by more than 2,000 guests, including NNS employees who are building Massachusetts, members of the submarine’s crew, Navy personnel and other government officials. Under Secretary of the Navy Erik Raven provided the keynote address.

NNS is one of only two shipyards capable of designing and building nuclear-powered submarines for the U.S. Navy. The advanced capabilities of Virginia-class submarines increase firepower, maneuverability and stealth.