USS Montana (SSN 794)

USS MONTANA History:

The story of USS MONTANA begins in the broader context of the U.S. Navy's effort in the early 2010s to expand and modernize its nuclear-powered attack submarine force with the VIRGINIA-class. As part of the Block IV series of that class, the contract covering SSN 794 was awarded on April 28, 2014, to the construction team led by Huntington Ingalls Industries' Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS) in Newport News, Virginia, working in partnership with General Dynamics Electric Boat. In September 2015, the Secretary of the Navy announced that SSN 794 would carry the name MONTANA, reviving a name last borne by the armored cruiser MONTANA (ACR 13) in the early twentieth century and establishing the future submarine as the second commissioned warship to honor the state. With that decision the pre-commissioning unit (PCU) MONTANA entered the long pipeline from design drawing to operational submarine, under a program that aimed to deliver a more maintenance-efficient Block IV design able to deploy more often over its service life than earlier VIRGINIA-class boats.

Physical construction of MONTANA began in May 2015 at Newport News, where modular sections of pressure hull, propulsion plant, combat systems spaces and living compartments were fabricated and then joined. On May 16, 2018, Newport News Shipbuilding hosted the keel-laying and keel authentication ceremony, a traditional milestone that in modern practice marks the formal recognition of the ship's construction rather than the literal laying of the first hull plates. By that time the pre-commissioning crew, led by Capt. Michael Delaney as commander of PCU MONTANA, was already engaged in intensive training and early testing alongside the shipyard workforce. Over the next two years, major structural and systems work continued, and photographs from December 2019 show the submarine structurally complete but still in a construction facility at Newport News, with internal outfitting and systems integration ongoing.

The next public milestone came with MONTANA's christening at Newport News Shipbuilding on September 12, 2020. The ceremony, held under the constraints of the COVID-19 pandemic, mixed in-person shipyard attendance with virtual participation. Former Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell, the boat's sponsor, carried out the traditional breaking of a bottle across the bow, formally christening the submarine in preparation for launch. Within weeks, in October 2020, Newport News rolled MONTANA out of the construction hall and into a dry dock, where she was prepared for her first contact with the water. Shipyard imagery from October 2020 shows the submarine in dry dock, followed by photographs of the hull afloat, marking the transition from static construction to the outfitting and testing phases alongside a pier. On February 8, 2021, MONTANA was officially launched at Newport News Shipbuilding, entering the water as a complete hull for the first time, while pier-side work and internal systems testing continued.

Throughout 2021, PCU MONTANA remained at Newport News undergoing the extensive pier-side test program typical for a new nuclear-powered submarine. The crew, which by then numbered more than 130 sailors, stood continuous watch over the fueled nuclear propulsion plant and progressively took control of more of the ship's systems as they were turned over by the shipyard. This period included dock trials, initial operation of propulsion and electrical systems, and stepwise integration of the combat system, sonar suite, and navigation equipment. Crew training in simulators and shore-based schools ran in parallel, aimed at qualifying personnel in engineering, navigation, weapons handling and watchstanding so that the boat could safely proceed to sea trials. The ship's crest and internal spaces were finalized during this time as well, with many compartments and passageways named after Montana cities and rivers, and with the crew adopting the nickname "Vigilantes of the Deep" and the Latin motto "Nobis Propositum Vitae Defende" ("Our purpose is to defend life"), reflecting the boat's namesake state and mission.

By early 2022, MONTANA was ready to leave the pier for the first time. In February 2022, she conducted her initial sea trials in the Atlantic Ocean off the U.S. East Coast, a demanding series of tests that included her first submergence, high-speed runs, emergency surfacing drills, and evaluations of maneuvering, propulsion, and combat systems performance under the oversight of the Navy's Board of Inspection and Survey. These successful trials paved the way for her handover from builder to fleet. On March 12, 2022, the Navy formally accepted delivery of the future USS MONTANA from Newport News Shipbuilding, an event recorded in Navy releases and industry reporting as the delivery of the 21st VIRGINIA-class submarine and the third Block IV unit. Delivery meant that responsibility shifted from the shipbuilder to the Navy, and PCU MONTANA entered the pre-commissioning fleet schedule under Commander, Submarine Forces.

In the months after delivery, MONTANA completed additional trials and certifications and moved from the shipyard environment at Newport News to Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia, where she would be commissioned and initially homeported. On June 25, 2022, the submarine was commissioned as USS MONTANA (SSN 794) during a ceremony at Naval Station Norfolk. Under Secretary of the Navy Erik Raven, among other speakers, emphasized the boat's role in providing advanced stealth, surveillance and special warfare capabilities to the fleet, while Adm. Frank Caldwell, Director of Naval Nuclear Propulsion, highlighted the continuing importance of attack submarines to U.S. national security. Sponsor Sally Jewell delivered the traditional order to "man our ship and bring her to life", after which the crew ceremonially ran aboard to assume full control. The Navy's description of MONTANA at commissioning stressed her status as a Block IV VIRGINIA-class submarine designed for reduced life-cycle maintenance, with the overall Block IV design expected to undergo one fewer major depot maintenance availability than earlier blocks, enabling up to 15 deployments over the boat's life instead of 14.

From mid-2022 through the start of her post-shakedown maintenance period, USS MONTANA operated from Naval Station Norfolk under U.S. Fleet Forces Command. As with most modern attack submarines, detailed daily movements and specific patrols were not publicly released, but official statements note that she completed her initial shakedown operations and joined the operational fleet before later returning to the shipyard.

During this interval she conducted the standard series of certifications and training evolutions required for a new nuclear attack submarine: tactical exercises, weapons handling and firing drills, navigation assessments and engineering proficiency checks in the Western Atlantic and adjacent operating areas. These activities took place against the backdrop of rising undersea competition with near-peer adversaries, particularly in the North Atlantic and Arctic approaches, where U.S. and allied navies have been focused on tracking increasingly capable Russian submarines. Even though specific MONTANA patrols in that period remain classified, the training and evaluation she underwent were aimed at preparing her crew to contribute to that broader undersea surveillance and deterrent mission.

Like other VIRGINIA-class boats, USS MONTANA was scheduled for a formal Post-Shakedown Availability (PSA) after her initial operating period. She returned to Newport News Shipbuilding for this work, which involved a combination of warranty repairs, modernization and routine maintenance. By November 13, 2024, HII announced that the PSA had been completed and that MONTANA had been redelivered to the Navy. The PSA included upgrades to combat systems and electronics and general maintenance tasks intended to ensure the submarine entered the next phase of her service in fully operational condition. A Newport News Shipbuilding in-house article in early 2025 later referenced this cycle, describing how MONTANA had first been delivered in March 2022, then returned to NNS for post-shakedown work and was redelivered in November 2024, emphasizing the close collaboration between the crew and the shipyard during this maintenance period.

Shortly after PSA completion, USS MONTANA conducted her first recorded port visit in the public record following redelivery. In a December 5, 2024 post, the Montana Commissioning Committee reported that the submarine had made a scheduled port call to Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay, Georgia, described as the boat's first port call since being redelivered. The accompanying official U.S. Navy photograph, dated November 18, 2024 in its file name, shows MONTANA moored at Kings Bay alongside a pier with harbor tugs in attendance, marking a visible transition from shipyard maintenance back to fleet operations.

In parallel with returning to operational status, USS MONTANA's long-planned change of homeport from the U.S. East Coast to the Pacific Fleet was carried out. A U.S. Pacific Fleet news release dated December 27, 2024, reported that MONTANA arrived at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, on December 23, 2024, completing a homeport change from Naval Station Norfolk. The release noted that upon arrival, the submarine became the ninth VIRGINIA-class fast-attack submarine based at Pearl Harbor and was assigned to Submarine Squadron 1 under Commander, Submarine Force U.S. Pacific Fleet (COMSUBPAC).

Once settled at Pearl Harbor, MONTANA entered a period of intense training and integration into Pacific Fleet operations. In the first days of March 2025, MONTANA took part in one of her first publicly documented major exercises as a Pacific Fleet unit. A COMSUBPAC news feature dated March 5, 2025 reported that U.S. Navy submarines, surface ships and aircraft had commenced exercise Black Widow 2025 in the Hawaii Operating Area on March 4, 2025. Black Widow was described as the Pacific undersea force's premier tactical development exercise, integrating submarines, surface combatants and aircraft to track and engage a simulated adversary submarine in a realistic multi-domain environment. Participating units included the VIRGINIA-class fast-attack submarines USS MONTANA and USS MISSISSIPPI (SSN 782), the ARLEIGH BURKE-class guided-missile destroyers USS FRANK E. PETERSEN JR. (DDG 121) and USS MICHAEL MURPHY (DDG 112), P-8A POSEIDON maritime patrol aircraft from Patrol Squadron 4, and an MH-60R SEAHAWK helicopter from Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron 37 embarked in MICHAEL MURPHY.

Shortly after Black Widow 2025, USS MONTANA again figured prominently in Pacific undersea warfare activities when the 2025 Undersea Warfare Commanders' Conference (USWCC) was held at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam from April 1-4, 2025. A COMSUBPAC article dated April 10, 2025 records that the conference, hosted by Commander, Submarine Force U.S. Pacific Fleet, brought together flag officers and senior representatives from the submarine forces of Australia, Canada, France, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Singapore and the United Kingdom. The event's theme, "Strengthening Theater Undersea Warfare Interoperability and Lethality in the Indo-Pacific Theater", reflected ongoing efforts to deepen multinational coordination in undersea operations as regional tensions and competition grew. During the conference, participants conducted a tabletop planning exercise and toured USS MONTANA, where Cmdr. Gilligan discussed the boat's capabilities with senior officers including Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force Vice Adm. Nobuyuki Takenaka and Royal Navy Rear Adm. Andrew Perks.

In April 2025 USS MONTANA was also chosen as the platform for a major leadership ceremony in the Pacific submarine force. On April 11, 2025, Commander, Submarine Force U.S. Pacific Fleet held its change-of-command ceremony aboard the submarine at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam.

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USS MONTANA Image Gallery:

The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning and show the MONTANA at Naval Base Norfolk, Va., on September 6, 2022.

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