The Virginia-class submarine USS North Dakota (SSN 784) has completed its extended drydocking selected restricted availability at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard.
The project, which marked PNSY’s first Chief of Naval Operations availability on a submarine from the third production block of the Virginia-class (Block III), integrated modern maritime technologies.
The North Dakota project team and ship’s crew navigated severalfirst-time technical alterations and executed the testing program, including its critical testing phase, at a historically rapid pace, according to the officials.
“Executing this complex work package on our first Block III submarine was a demanding task, but this team met every challenge head-on with tenacity and selflessness," said Capt. Jesse Nice, shipyard commander.
"Their cohesion, expertise, and indomitable will blazed the trail for future Virginia-class success stories and returned a fully modernized North Dakota back to the fleet, ready for the fight."
“The state-of-the-art technological capabilities integrated during this availability translate directly into immediate operational capability and credible combat power, strengthening the readiness and resilience of the submarine force and helping our Navy maintain its global edge,” stated Capt. Mike Poplawski, commodore, Submarine Squadron TWO.
USS North Dakota is the eleventh submarine of the class. Commissioned in October, 2014 in Groton, Connecticut, it was the first of eight Block III Virginia-class submarines.
The 114.8-meter-long submarine is powered by a nuclear reactor and a single shaft and can exceed 25 knots. It has a crew of approximately 145 personnel and is equipped with four torpedo tubes for Mk 48 advanced capability torpedoes.
According to the US Navy, Virginia-class attack submarines are designed for a broad range of missions, including anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare, strike operations, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, special operations support, irregular warfare and mine warfare.
USS North Dakota is homeported at Naval Submarine Base New London in Groton and operates under Submarine Squadron 4.