HII splashes Virginia-class submarine USS Arkansas (PHOTOS)

US shipbuilding major HII has launched the US Navy’s Virginia-class submarine USS Arkansas (SSN 800).

Shipbuilders transferred the submarine from a construction facility to the floating dry dock, where it was launched and moved by tugboats to a submarine pier at the shipyard for final outfitting, testing and crew certification.

The launch took place recently at the company’s Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS) division.

“We are committed to increasing submarine construction cadence and throughput for the U.S.  Navy,” said Bryan Caccavale, NNS vice president of Navy programs.

“Nuclear-powered submarines are critical to our national security and we’re proud to see Arkansas in the water.”

USS Arkansas is the 27th Virginia-class submarine and will be the thirteenth delivered by NNS. The advanced capabilities of Virginia-class submarines increase firepower, maneuverability and stealth.

The christening ceremony for the vessel occurred last December. The ship’s sponsors are the six women of the historic group known as the Little Rock Nine, the first African American students to attend all-white Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, during desegregation. NNS honored all nine members during the ceremony. The Little Rock Nine made history in 1957 with their response to the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Brown v. Board of Education, declaring racial segregation in public schools unconstitutional.