Crew Embarks US Navy’s Future Submarine John Warner

The US Navy’s future Virginia-class submarine, John Warner (SSN 785) reached a milestone on Monday as the crew began moving aboard.

The submarine, named after former Senator John Warner, is in the final stages of construction and testing at Huntington Ingalls Industries’ Newport News Shipbuilding division.

Cmdr. Dan Caldwell, the submarine’s prospective commanding officer, said:

The in-service milestone is an important event in the life of the submarine John Warner. The ability to work and live aboard the ship will give the crew the opportunity to become more familiar with the equipment they will operate and places us one step closer to our ultimate goal of taking this submarine to sea.

Construction of John Warner, the first Virginia-class submarine to be named for a person, began in 2010. The boat was christened Sept. 6. John Warner is 96 percent complete and on schedule to be delivered later this year. The submarine’s next significant construction milestone is initial sea trials, an aggressive series of operational tests that demonstrate the submarine’s capabilities.

[mappress mapid=”15034″]

Image: US Navy