During a visit to Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Secretary of the Navy Gordon England announced his decision to name the next Virginia class submarine in honor of the State of New Hampshire. The new, nuclear-powered, attack submarine, designated SSN 778, will be built by General Dynamics Electric Boat (Conn.) and Northrop Grumman Newport News (Va.).

The Virginia class submarines are the most advanced in the world and are the first U.S. submarines to be designed for battlespace dominance across a broad spectrum of regional and littoral missions as well as open-ocean, "blue water," missions. Capable of launching Tomahawk missiles and deploying with special operations forces such as the Navy SEALs, this class of submarines achieves the right balance of core military capabilities and affordability.

Two other U.S. Navy ships have been named USS New Hampshire. The first was in service from 1846-1921, including service during the Civil War. Later, she was renamed Granite State following decommissioning and was then used as a training ship for the New York State Militia. The second USS New Hampshire (1908-1921) was a battleship that escorted convoys during World War I and also served as a training ship.

For more information on Virginia class submarines visit: http://www.chinfo.navy.mil/navpalib/factfile/ships/ship-ssn.html