GROTON, Conn., Oct. 10, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, General
Dynamics Electric Boat christened the Illinois (SSN 786), the 13th
submarine of the U.S. Navy's Virginia
Class. Electric Boat is a wholly owned subsidiary of General
Dynamics (NYSE: GD).
The Saturday morning christening ceremony took place at Electric
Boat's Groton shipyard with the
Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus as
the ceremony's principal speaker. First Lady Michelle Obama is the ship's sponsor and she
christened the ship by breaking a bottle of Illinois sparkling wine
against the submarine's bow before an audience of approximately
7,500 people.
USS Illinois will be delivered to the Navy in 2016.
"We are honored to have the First Lady as our sponsor," said
Electric Boat President Jeffrey
Geiger. "I'm proud to show her that this submarine is the
embodiment of our team, whose innovation, ingenuity and unrelenting
work ethic is unmatched."
Virginia-class submarines are among the most effective platforms
in the Navy's portfolio. These submarines are equipped to wage
multi-dimensional warfare around the globe. In addition to
anti-submarine, anti-surface ship and counter-mine warfare,
Illinois will support surveillance, special operations and covert
strike missions.
Electric Boat has established standards of excellence in the
design, construction and lifecycle support of U.S. Navy submarines.
The company's primary locations are in Groton, New London,
Conn., and Quonset Point, R.I. Its current workforce is
approximately 14,000 employees. For more information about Electric
Boat, please visit www.gdeb.com.
More information about the christening is available at
www.ebchristenings.com.
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SOURCE General Dynamics Electric Boat