GROTON, Conn. (AP) – A ceremony to commission the Navy’s newest attack submarine has been scheduled for next month at the submarine base in Groton, Connecticut.
USS South Dakota will be commissioned at the Navy base on Feb. 2 as the 17th Virginia-class submarine to join the fleet.
The submarines cost about $2.7 billion each and are built in partnership by Newport News Shipbuilding and General Dynamics’ Electric Boat.
The vessel’s sponsor is Deanie Dempsey, the wife of retired Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, who served as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
It will be the third U.S. Navy ship and the first submarine to be commissioned with the name South Dakota.
