Overview
- The vessel will be commissioned Saturday at South Boston’s Conley Terminal, in what organizers call the first modern submarine visit to the city.
- USS Constitution will get underway from the Charlestown Navy Yard at 8:45 a.m. and will fire a 17-gun salute as it passes U.S. Coast Guard Sector Boston, with public viewing along the Harborwalk and at the Navy Yard.
- As a Virginia-class, nuclear-powered fast-attack submarine, the 377-foot boat carries about 145 sailors and can launch Tomahawk cruise missiles and torpedoes.
- The Navy describes the class as built for hunting enemy subs and ships, gathering intelligence and surveillance, and clearing mines, with stealth and special-operations features to support those missions.
- After the ceremony, the sub is expected to base in Groton, Connecticut, continuing the state’s namesake line as the fifth U.S. Navy vessel to carry Massachusetts, following a 2023 christening by sponsor Sheryl Sandberg.