The US Navy’s fourteenth Virginia-class fast-attack submarine USS Washington (SSN 787) completed its maiden deployment on February 11, returning to its homeport at Naval Station Norfolk.
During its first operational deployment, USS Washington operated in the US European Command area of responsibility where it executed the chief of naval operations’ maritime strategy.
“I could not be more proud of what my team has accomplished,” said Capt. Gabriel Cavazos. “This team has given their all throughout our workups and execution to be ready to accomplish the ship’s maiden deployment. They faced adversity together by creating innovative solutions and had an incredibly successful deployment.”
During the deployment, Washington steamed approximately 45,000 nautical miles with the crew supporting diplomatic relationships by conducting port visits in Rota, Spain and Faslane, Scotland.
Washington is a Block III Virginia submarine, which means that it has a revised bow, and borrows some technology from Ohio-class SSGNs. After Washington entered service in late 2017, the navy commissioned another three submarines in the class but they are yet to complete their operational deployments.
All ten submarines from the Block IV batch of submarines, that will be capable of performing an additional deployment during their service lives, are under construction, while two boats from the future Block V batch are on order.
