The Navy's newest Virginia-class attack submarine has a name: USS Utah.
The sub, SSN-801, is the last of a block of 10 ordered by the Navy in April 2014 from General Dynamics Electric Boat out of Groton, Connecticut, in a $17.6 billion contract. That contract is the largest shipbuilding contract in Navy history, according to officials with Naval Sea Systems Command.
Navy Secretary Ray Mabus presided over the naming of the Utah on Tuesday at a ceremony in Salt Lake City.
The Utah was named in honor of a state rich with Navy history, Mabus' staff said in a news release. That history includes Naval Supply Depot Clearfield, the world's largest naval supply center during World War II and an employer of some 8,000 civilians until its decommissioning in 1962.
The "801" designator also pays homage to the Utah's namesake, as 801 is the telephone area code for Salt Lake City.
The submarine is the second Navy vessel to bear the name Utah, following a battleship designated BB-31 that saw service in the Mexican Civil War and in World War I.
The Utah, which cost nearly $2.7 billion to build, is scheduled for delivery to the fleet in 2023.
