WASHINGTON (NNS) — Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus announced June 15 that SSN 800, a Virginia-class attack submarine, will bear the name USS Arkansas. ...

WASHINGTON (NNS) — Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus announced June 15 that SSN 800, a Virginia-class attack submarine, will bear the name USS Arkansas.

“As we sail deeper into the 21st century it is time for another USS Arkansas; time to keep that storied name alive in our Navy,” said Mabus. “She will sail the world like those who have gone before her, defending the American people and representing our American values through presence.”

The future USS Arkansas will be the fifth naval vessel to bear the name. The first was a screw steamer originally named Tonawanda that served in the American Civil War; the second, commissioned in 1902, was an Arkansas-class monitor with a single gun turret and was one of the last monitors of the U.S. Navy. The third Arkansas was one of two Wyoming-class battleships, commissioned in 1912. The last Arkansas, one of four Virginia-class nuclear-powered guided missile cruisers, commissioned in 1980 and decommissioned in 1998.

The submarine will begin construction in 2018 and is expected to join the fleet in 2023.

Virginia-class attack submarines provide the Navy with the capabilities required to maintain the nation’s undersea supremacy well into the 21st century. They have enhanced stealth, sophisticated surveillance capabilities and special warfare enhancements that will enable them to meet the Navy’s multi-mission requirements.

These submarines have the capability to attack targets ashore with highly accurate Tomahawk cruise missiles and conduct covert, long-term surveillance of land areas, littoral waters or other sea-based forces. Other missions include anti-submarine and anti-ship warfare, mine delivery and minefield mapping. They are also designed for special forces delivery and support.