Montana’s namesake attack sub will be commissioned at a Saturday ceremony at Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia.

The USS Montana is the second warship to bear the state’s name and is a Virginia-class, nuclear-powered fast-attack submarine. The vessel was christened in September 2020 and delivered to the Navy on March 12 of this year.

All hands will be on deck for the weekend ceremony, which will be live streamed by the Department of Defense, including Gov. Greg Gianforte. The governor is expected to deliver an address. To view the ceremony, go to: https://www.dvidshub.net/webcast/28926.

Navy officials describe the vessel as “the most modern and sophisticated attack submarine in the world,” able to operate close to shore and in deep ocean. The sub can strike at targets both below and above the water’s surface, and engage in irregular warfare, including the delivery of special operations forces.

Additionally, the sub can engage in surveillance, reconnaissance and intelligence missions as well as mine warfare, officials said.

Former Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell serves as the sub’s sponsor. It was built by General Dynamics Electric Boat and Huntington Ingalls Industries - Newport News Shipbuilding. The Montana is the 10th Virginia-class submarine delivered by Huntington Ingalls Industries.

The first USS Montana was an armored cruiser commissioned in 1908. The ship went on to serve in the Atlantic and Mediterranean, landed Marines during unrest in Haiti in 1921 and escorted convoys during World War I.

The Treasure State has had poor luck in seeing other ships bearing its name. Construction of a USS Montana battleship in the early part of the 20th Century was canceled in 1922 owing to the Washington Naval Limitations Treaty, according to the Navy.

Planning for a new, much more powerful class of battleships just prior to U.S. entry into World War II would have seen a USS Montana nearly a third larger than its Iowa class predecessors and approached Japan’s Yamato. Development of what was called the Montana class was suspended owing to the demand for other vessels during the war. By 1943, it became apparent that battleships were outdated and the building program was scrapped.

News Editor Derrick Perkins can be reached at 758-4430 or [email protected].