The Navy christened the future USS Utah (SSN-801), a Virginia-class attack submarine, on October 25, 2025 during an indoor ceremony at General Dynamics Electric Boat's shipyard in Groton, Connecticut, according to the Navy's October 2025 announcement. The ceremony was streamed live to the Utah State Capitol in Salt Lake City, where state officials and the ship's commissioning committee watched the traditional bottle-breaking from 2,000 miles away. The name revives that of the battleship USS Utah (BB-31), capsized at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 with more than 50 of her crew, and makes the submarine the second U.S. Navy vessel to carry it, 84 years after the first was lost.
What happened at the ceremony?
The christening took place inside Electric Boat's assembly building rather than on an outdoor ways, consistent with the practice for recent Virginia-class launches at the Groton yard. The ceremony followed the standard sequence for the class: remarks from Navy and shipbuilder leadership, the formal breaking of a bottle of sparkling wine across the hull, and recognition of the ship's sponsor. Video of the event was carried live to a public viewing at the Utah State Capitol beginning at 7:30 a.m. local time, according to the ship's commissioning committee. The boat, known as PCU Utah until commissioning, remains at Electric Boat for final outfitting, sea trials, and delivery.
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Where does SSN-801 sit in the Virginia-class program?
Utah is one of the later Virginia-class hulls shared between Electric Boat in Connecticut and HII's Newport News Shipbuilding in Virginia, the two-yard construction arrangement the Navy has used since the class began. Boats at this point in the build sequence incorporate the Virginia-class Block V design features, including the Virginia Payload Tube section that adds midbody tubes for large-diameter payloads. Delivery dates for individual hulls are set by the Navy's acquisition program office after sea trials, and the service had not announced a delivery or commissioning date for SSN-801 as of the October 2025 ceremony.
Why the name Utah carries weight
The first Utah served as a battleship before being converted to a target and training ship, and she lay moored at Ford Island when Japanese aircraft attacked on December 7, 1941. Struck by torpedoes early in the raid, she rolled over and sank, and her hull remains in the harbor today as a memorial. Fifty-eight crew members were entombed, according to the National Park Service's Pearl Harbor historic accounts. The name's return to the fleet marks the second ship named for the state and the first in 84 years, a point Utah's congressional delegation and the commissioning committee emphasized in the run-up to the Groton ceremony.
What comes next for the boat
Between christening and commissioning, the crew moves aboard, systems are activated, and the boat runs an acceptance trial supervised by the Navy's Board of Inspection and Survey. Commissioning, the ceremony that places the ship in active service, follows delivery. For schedule specifics, the Navy directs inquiries to the submarine's program office and the Submarine Force Atlantic command, which maintains the official page for PCU Utah (SSN-801).