Navy Rear Adm. Casey Moton, Newport News Shipbuilding President Kari Wilkinson and ship sponsor Pamela Bove applaud Andrew Kahler as he welds Bove’s initials into a metal plate during the keel authentication ceremony for the future USS Barb on Dec. 9, 2025, in Newport News, Va. Moton is the program executive officer for aircraft carriers. (Ashley Cowan/Huntington Ingalls Industries)

The keel was laid this week for the future USS Barb, the 31st Virginia-class nuclear-powered attack submarine, as the Navy continues to transition away from dependence on the Cold War-era Los Angeles-class attack submarines.

During a ceremony at Huntington Ingalls Industries’ shipbuilding division in Newport News, Va., on Tuesday, the first weld was watched over by Pamela Bove, the boat’s sponsor.

Under Navy tradition, a woman is named the sponsor of new ships and submarines. Bove is married to Thomas Bove, the grandson of Rear Adm. Eugene “Lucky” Fluckey, who served as commander of the first USS Barb, a highly decorated World War II submarine.

Bove’s initials were etched onto a metal plate, signifying the keel as being “truly and fairly laid.”

“It is an honor to serve as sponsor for Barb and see the legacy of this historic submarine carried forward to a new generation,” Bove said. “I am grateful for the shipbuilders who are working diligently to construct this mighty vessel and all the sailors who will selflessly serve aboard her for decades to come.”

The USS Barb underway in November 1954 following modernization and during preparations for transfer to Italy. (Naval History and Heritage Command)

USS California, a Virginia-class fast attack submarine, on patrol in the Atlantic in 2011. (Stefanie Hauck/U.S. Navy)

The Barb is the namesake for the Gato-class attack submarine that earned four Presidential Unit Citations during World War II, according to Naval History and Heritage Command, sinking the aircraft carrier Unyo and 16 other enemy vessels. It was loaned to Italy as the Enrico Tazzoli before being scrapped in the 1970s.

A second Barb, a Permit-class attack submarine, served in the U.S. Navy from 1963 to 1989.

The basic version of the Virginia-class submarine has a crew of 140 and a 377-foot-long hull equipped with advanced sensors that eliminate the need for a traditional periscope.

Its 7,800-ton displacement can move through the ocean at over 25 knots, and its nuclear reactor generates 40,000 shaft horsepower through a pump-jet propulsion system. It carries MK 48 torpedoes and Tomahawk cruise missiles.

An elongated version of the submarine carrying a Virginia Payload Module has a displacement of over 10,000 tons and can carry additional Tomahawk missiles, drones, mines and other weapons. The additional space can also be used for carrying commandos who can be deployed near shore for missions behind enemy lines.

There are 24 Virginia-class submarines in active service, the most in the Navy, and 10 are in various phases of sea tests, delivery or construction. Nine more have been authorized.

A total of 62 Los Angeles-class attack submarines were built from 1972 to 1996, with 21 still active in service for the Navy. Pentagon plans call for two, USS Newport News and USS Alexandria, to be decommissioned in 2026.

The Virginia-class submarines are built at both HII Newport News Shipbuilding and General Dynamics Electric Boat Company in Groton, Conn.