Navy
Another Virginia-class submarine enters service with commissioning of USS Idaho
Stars and Stripes
April 25, 2026
The future USS Idaho is seen pulling into Submarine Base New London in Groton, Conn. for the first time, Dec. 15, 2025. The Virginia-class submarine was commissioned in a ceremony on Saturday, April 25, 2026. (John Narewski/U.S. Navy)
The USS Idaho was commissioned in a ceremony at Naval Submarine Base New London, Conn., on Saturday. It is the 26th Virginia-class fast-attack submarine to be delivered to the service.
Although the submarine is the fifth Navy ship to be named for the state of Idaho, its commissioning comes over a century after that of the most recent naval vessel to carry the name, according to a Navy news release. The last Navy ship named Idaho was a New Mexico-class battleship commissioned in 1919.
The ceremony was attended by Idaho’s governor and one of its senators, as well as Connecticut Sen. Richard Blumenthal, Navy Adm. William Houston, the president of Electric Boat and Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao, among others. The service’s acting leader formally placed the ship in active service. Cao assumed the position on Wednesday after John Phelan left the role.
The ceremony comes as the Pentagon proposes a substantial increase in the Navy’s budget for the 2027 fiscal year, much of which is aimed at shipbuilding. The proposal includes full funding for two Virginia-class nuclear fast attack submarines and advance procurement for another four submarines.
The ceremony also came about a month after the commissioning of another Virginia-class submarine, the USS Massachusetts. It is the first submarine to be named for the state.
USS Idaho was co-produced by General Dynamics Electric Boat and HII-Newport News Shipbuilding. The submarine is 377 feet long and weighs about 7,800 tons.