The Columbia-Class Submarine Construction Program at Newport News Shipbuilding completed an important first-of-class milestone when it shipped District of Columbia (SSBN 826) Auxiliary Machine Room (AMR) decks to General Dynamics Electric Boat on May 25.

These are the first Columbia-class modules shipped from NNS to Electric Boat’s Groton, Connecticut, facility. They were transported via Electric Boat’s Holland barge.

While the AMR decks are not the largest Columbia-class modules NNS will send to Electric Boat, shipbuilders on the program took great pride in this first-of-class accomplishment. “This has been a very rewarding experience, delivering the very first module of the Columbia program to EB,” said X62 Construction Supervisor John Wooten.

The accomplishment is a reflection of the Columbia team’s tireless efforts to construct and deliver these decks efficiently. Completing this evolution and executing this milestone bodes well for strong performance on future SSBN 826 first-of-class milestones, as well as module deliveries on future hulls.