NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — When completed, the USS Oklahoma will become the Navy's 29th Virginia-class submarine and the 14th to be delivered by Newport News Shipbuilding.
You could say it's a product that has stood the test of time.
"The quality, the expertise that has gone into designing these ships, and preparing them not just for going to sea, but going to war. These ships are the top of their class and the best in the world," said Commander Aaron Stutzman, Commanding Officer of Pre-Commissioning Unit Oklahoma.
"We've got a great design. We've got a very engaged workforce, and we've got a good teaming arrangement with Electric Boat. And the Navy wants these submarines," said Bob Meyer, Newport News Shipbuilding Virginia Class Constriction Director.
The Oklahoma was ordered in December 2019, and Wednesday's ceremony -- the time-honored "keel authentication" -- marked the sub's first big milestone during the construction process.
The moment is a source of pride for the shipbuilders, including welder Alex VanCampen, who etched the ship's sponsor's initials onto a steel plate that will be affixed to the Oklahoma throughout its expected 33-year lifespan.
VanCampen said taxpayers will get their money's worth out of the $2.6 billion Oklahoma when it is delivered in about four years.
"I weld on it, so, it's going to be great. Let me tell you what, it's going to be a good boat. A lot of people put a lot of hard work into this thing, so it's going to come out good," he said.
Ship sponsor Mary "Molly" Slavonic is an Oklahoma native and the wife of former Acting Secretary of the Navy Greg Slavonic. She called the honor, "humbling."
During the ceremony, she declared the keel to have been "truly and fairly laid.”
Newport News Shipbuilding President Jennifer Boykin said: “The nuclear submarines we build help ensure our peace and freedoms, and we take great pride in being a nuclear shipyard.”
This will be the Navy's second warship to be named after the state of Oklahoma. The first one was a battleship that was struck by torpedoes during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941.