HII marks Arkansas (SSN 800) construction milestone at Newport News Shipbuilding

HII recently announced that its Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS) division has reached a significant milestone in the construction of Virginia-class submarine Arkansas (SSN 800). Arkansas (SSN 800) is now “pressure hull complete,” meaning that all of the hull sections were joined to form a single, watertight unit. “It’s exciting to reach pressure hull complete, because it’s a visible sign that construction has progressed to the point where Arkansas really starts to take its final shape,” said Jason Ward, NNS vice president of Virginia-class submarine construction. “We absolutely understand the important mission ahead for Arkansas and are working with urgency to get this powerful national security asset to the Navy as soon as possible.” NNS is one of only two shipyards capable of designing and building nuclear-powered submarines. The advanced capabilities of Virginia-class submarines increase firepower, manoeuvrability and stealth. This milestone comes following the christening of Massachusetts (SSN 798) and keel authentication of Oklahoma (SSN 802) at NNS so far in 2023. For Editorial Inquiries Contact: Editor Kym Bergmann at [email protected] For Advertising Inquiries Contact: Director of Sales Graham Joss at [email protected]