Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro announced that the future Virginia-class submarine (SSN-813) will be named USS Atlanta during a ceremony at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum in the city on Wednesday.
“It has been 25 years since the Navy has had a ship named after the proud legacy of the city of Atlanta. Today, it is my honor and privilege to name the next Virginia-class submarine, SSN-813, USS Atlanta,” he said in a Navy release.
The submarine’s naming is in line with the precedent of selecting cities as names for the Virginia-class boats. Five other ships have been named for the Georgia capital.
“We envision the future USS Atlanta sailing and submerging as a testament to some of the same values that this city holds …protecting this nation with courage and strength,” Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens said at the ceremony.
“The naming of this ship is a testament to Atlanta’s history as the cradle of the civil rights movement,” Rep. Nikema Williams (D-Ga.) said. “As this vessel sails across the globe, it will carry with it the legacy of civil and human rights leaders like Congressman John Lewis and President Jimmy Carter, embodying Atlanta’s unbreakable spirit and the fight for justice that continues today.”
Former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms will serve as the ship’s sponsor. “The ship’s sponsor fills a vital role throughout the life of a warship, serving as the bond between the ship, her crew, and the nation they serve,” Del Toro said.
The last Navy ship named for the city was a Los Angeles-class nuclear attack submarine that decommissioned in 1999.
Twenty-two Virginia-class boats have been commissioned so far. They are the Navy’s replacements for the Los Angeles class.
During the ceremony, Del Toro praised former President Jimmy Carter for his service as a Navy officer advancing the nuclear-submarine program with Adm. Hyman Rickover and in the White House for “growing our submarine, aviation, and surface forces.”
The third and final submarine in the Seawolf class is named for Carter. USS Jimmy Carter (SSN-23) was commissioned in 2005. In a news release, General Dynamics said the submarine was “modified by Electric Boat to accommodate advanced technology for naval special warfare, tactical surveillance and mine warfare operations.”
The $887 million modification required alterations to the basic Seawolf design in the areas of ballast control, mission-management spaces, and various services. A unique feature of the modification was the creation of a flexible ocean interface, referred to as the “wasp waist,” which enables the Navy to deploy and recover various payloads without having to use torpedo tubes, the news release said.
A building at the Naval Academy was named in Carter’s honor in 2023. Carter, who celebrated his 100th birthday on Oct. 1, graduated from the academy in 1946.
As the naming ceremony concluded, USNI News reported that General Dynamics Electric Boat is slowing its rate of production on the Columbia-class nuclear ballistic missile submarine and the Virginia-class boats due to a lack of “major components.”
GD CEO Phebe Novakovic said Electric Boat work would slow to keep pace with a supply chain that’s lagging construction.
“EB continues to be severely impacted by late deliveries from major component suppliers, which has delayed schedules and is continuing to impact costs,” Novakovic said during GD’s Fiscal Year 2024 third-quarter earnings call with investors.
Novakovic touched on the ongoing contract negotiations between the Navy and GD over 17 future submarines in the call. The shipbuilder is now negotiating the cost of two Fiscal Year 2024 Block V Virginia-class attack boats – Baltimore (SSN-812) and Atlanta (SSN-813) – that have seen almost $2 billion in estimated cost increases since Congress funded $9.34 billion for the purchase.
