By: Amanda Beaulieu

(Hartford, CT, September 19, 2024) September 15th marked a historic milestone for the U.S. Navy and Groton-based General Dynamics Electric Boat, as the USS New Jersey, the first-ever gender-integrated submarine, was commissioned into the naval fleet.

“Though she’s brand new to the fleet, this boat is already making history and setting the bar high,” said Newport News Shipbuilding president Jennifer Boykin.

“She is the first Virginia-class submarine designed for both male and female sailors.”

At a ceremony at Naval Weapons Station Earle in Middletown, New Jersey, dignitaries, Navy families, and the sailors stationed aboard the USS New Jersey, joined leaders from co-builders Electric Boat and Huntington Ingalls Industries’ Newport News Shipbuilding to celebrate this extraordinary occasion.

Electric Boat is a global leader in submarine manufacturing, but building a gender-inclusive sub has never been done in over 100 years of Navy submarine history. While the USS New Jersey is the first sub of its kind, it will not be the last.

Future Virginia- and Columbia-class vessels will be built and deployed following the same model. The new gender-integrated design of the submarine presented a challenge for the shipbuilders:

• Privacy requirements necessitated separate male and female sleeping and bathroom facilities.
• Other modifications included adding steps to stacked laundry machines and triple bunk beds.
• Some overhead valves were also lowered, allowing them to be turned more easily.

In a video posted to social media, the Navy called the New Jersey “a testament to the strength diversity brings to our Navy,” adding “the future of naval warfare starts here, and it’s more inclusive, stronger, and more capable than ever.”

The state-of-the-art sub is designed for a multitude of missions according to the Navy. Fast-attack submarines are made to excel in several types of warfare, intelligence, special operations, and reconnaissance.

Built as part of the teaming agreement between Electric Boat and NNS, the New Jersey is the 23^rd submarine co-produced by the two companies. Tens of thousands of shipbuilders, supported by thousands of suppliers in Connecticut and across the United States constructed the ship.

With a crew of nearly 135 personnel, the New Jersey is the third Navy vessel to bear the name of the Garden State. It is 377 feet long, weighs 7,800 tons, has a 34-foot beam, can dive to greater than 800 feet, and operates at speeds over 25 knots.

The ship was christened in November 2021, and underwent successful sea trials before NNS delivered it to the Navy in April 2024 after several years of construction.

“The shipbuilders of Electric Boat and our partners at Newport News Shipbuilding and in the submarine industrial base, many of which are here today, created this amazing machine,” said Electric Boat vice president Larry Runkle, during the commissioning ceremony.

Runkle called the New Jersey “a true technological wonder, with capabilities no other boat can match.”

The first female officers began reporting to ballistic missile submarines in 2011, a year after a long-standing ban on women serving aboard U.S. subs was lifted. As of August 2024, 730 female officers and sailors were assigned to operational submarines according to Submarine Force Atlantic.

The Women in Submarines Task Force oversaw the initial integration of female officers into submarine crews and further plans evolved as female submariner interest grew. The task force set a goal to have 33 Submarine Force crews across all platforms and homeports integrated with officers by 2030. They also addressed privacy requirements by making living modifications aboard existing submarines.

“Integrating women allowed the Submarine Force to attract the nation’s best and brightest,” said WIS coordinator at Commander Submarine Force Atlantic Lt. Sabrina Reyes-Dods in 2021.

The Navy developed a plan to build future subs reflecting the makeup of its current and future crews. That submarine of the future is the USS New Jersey.

“Today we commissioned our ship, and she is the fastest, most advanced, fully integrated fast-attack to date,” said the ship’s commanding officer Cmdr. Stev Halle.

“But as we revolutionize our submarines, as we integrate AI, and as we develop new technology, it will always come down to the men and women that serve under the sea.”