The U.S. Navy's Block V Virginia-Class Submarine Future Has Arrived
During the official kickoff concert for the inaugural Fleet Week Miami hosted by Blue Star Families, U.S. Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro announced that the future Virginia-class nuclear-powered fast submarine SSN-811 will be named for the Magic City. The vessel will thus honor Miami, as well as the crews of three previous Navy vessels to bear the name.
"That shared history is what makes Miami one of the greatest cities on Earth and emblematic of what makes this country the greatest country in the world," said Del Toro. "Miami is a shining example of what happens when a city welcomes all who come seeking a better life."
Fleet Week Miami is meant to be a display of naval power and community engagement, with more than 7,000 Sailors and Marines participating. Several Navy vessels are present, including the Nimitz-class supercarrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75).
Pop Star Sponsor
Del Toro also announced that international pop music icon Gloria Estefan sponsored the future attack submarine named for Miami. Ms. Estefan will christen the vessel, and she will maintain a lifelong relationship with the ship and crew.
"We are so thankful as citizens of this great country to have all of you out there protecting and serving all of us," Estefan told approximately 1,500 Sailors and Marines attending the kickoff concert on Tuesday.
A Block V Boat
The future USS Miami is the latest Virginia-class submarine to receive its name, closely following the future USS Long Island (SSN-809) and USS San Francisco (SSN-810). Like SSN-809, SSN-811 will be constructed by Huntington Ingalls Industries' Newport News Shipbuilding in Virginia, and it will be the 10th boat of the Block V series of this class of attack submarines.
However, the Navy has not announced whether the future USS Miami will be one of the Block V boats equipped with the Virginia Payload Module, which will provide the Navy’s guided-missile capabilities as the sea service's Ohio-class SSGNs are retired from service.
Honoring Miami – The Magic City
Three other Navy vessels were named for the Magic City, including a Civil War-era side-wheel steam gunboat; the World War II-era Cleveland-class light cruiser CL-89; and the Los Angeles-class nuclear-powered attack submarine SSN-755.
The steam gunboat was commissioned at the Philadelphia Naval Yard and entered service in 1862. It took part in several engagements, including at Vicksburg, Mississippi, and the vessel was retired at the end of the Civil War. It saw commercial use until 1869.
CL-89 was also commissioned at the Philadelphia Naval Yard, in December 1943. It took part in several Pacific campaigns, including at the Battle of Leyte Gulf, as part of Admiral William F. Halsey's Third Fleet. During her service in the Second World War, the light cruiser earned six battle stars for operations in the Marianas, Western Caroline Islands, Leyte Gulf, Luzon, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa.
Like almost all of her sister ships, CL-89 was decommissioned after the end of the war and never saw active service again. The light cruiser was scrapped in the early 1960s.
Commissioned in June 1990, the USS Miami (SSN-755) was the 44th Los Angeles-class boat constructed. She conducted cruise missile strikes during Operation Desert Fox in 1998, and again during Operation Allied Force in 1999. The fast attack submarine would likely still be in service, but it suffered a major fire during a refit in May 2012. Debate over whether to repair the boat went on for about a year, but naval officials opted to decommission the vessel, deeming the repair costs too great.
As noted by the Navy, the city of Miami, Florida, has a deep-rooted connection to maritime operations. The greater Miami region was formerly home to a seaplane base (1918-1920), a naval reserve air base (1931-1942), and a naval air station (1940-1958). Most notably, the United States Southern Command has been headquartered in Miami-Dade County since 1997.
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Peter Suciu is a Michigan-based writer. He has contributed to more than four dozen magazines, newspapers, and websites with over 3,200 published pieces over a twenty-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a Contributing Writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu. You can email the author: Editor@nationalinterest.org.