The U.S. Navy has commissioned USS Oregon (SSN 793), a Block IV Virginia-class fast-attack submarine, during a ceremony at Naval Submarine Base New London, marking the first time the service branch held an in-person submarine commissioning event since 2019.
The fast-attack submarines like USS Oregon are developed to meet the Navy requirements for sea control, power projection, forward presence, maritime security and deterrence as part of its maritime strategy, the service branch said.
In addition, Block IV Virginia-class subs undergo smaller-scale design changes for increased component-level lifecycle, enabling the Navy to expand the periodicity between depot maintenance availabilities while boosting deployment numbers.
The traditional ceremony held Saturday was attended by Gov. Kate Brown of Oregon; Tommy Ross, performing the duties of assistant secretary of the Navy for research, development and acquisition; Adm. Frank Caldwell, director of the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program; Cmdr. Lacy Lodmell, commanding officer of USS Oregon; and other officials and personnel, according to the service branch.
“Oregon and the other Virginia-class submarines will not only sustain, but exploit our edge in undersea warfare,” remarked Caldwell during the commissioning ceremony.