USS Massachusetts (SSN-798) is a nuclear powered attack submarine commissioned into the United States Navy on . She is the 25th submarine of the class, and is named for the U.S. state of Massachusetts—the eighth such vessel.
History
SSN-798 was part of a $17.6 billion contract awarded by the United States Navy to prime contractor General Dynamics Electric Boat to construct 10 Virginia-class submarines. Ray Mabus, then Secretary of the Navy, announced the name Massachusetts on in an opinion piece for The Boston Globe. She became the first Navy vessel to be named after the Commonwealth since the battleship , which was decommissioned in 1947. She became the eighth ship of the Navy or Revenue-Marine (precursor to the Coast Guard) to be named after the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
Her keel was laid at Newport News Shipbuilding, in a virtual ceremony due to the COVID-19 pandemic. She was christened by ship sponsor Sheryl Sandberg on . In November 2023, Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro advised that Boston would be the site of her ship commissioning.
She completed her initial sea trials on . The Navy accepted delivery on . Her commissioning ceremony occurred on at the Conley Terminal in South Boston. She was placed in commission with under tow nearby, and with three Medal of Honor recipients in attendance: Thomas G. Kelley, Thomas Payne, and Ryan M. Pitts.
On 17 August 2026, the Navy has decided that the USS Massachusetts is ready to proceed to the fleet without the usual post-shakedown availability (PSA) in dry dock. Vice Adm. Rob Gaucher, Director of Submarine Programs stated that it is a “calculated risk.”
Notes
References
Further reading
Giovanni Rinaldi (3 April 2026). USS Massachusetts enters service: Boston commissions the U.S. Navy’s new silent deterrent. InfoDifesa.