The first namesake ship in more than 70 years for Indiana will be boasting the Hoosier State name. The American Legion post #147 of Jasper will be hosting the Commanding Officer and Master Chief of the USS Indiana Tuesday, January 10th from 3 until 3:45 pm at the Legion Hall in Jasper.
The USS Indiana is the 6th unit in a group of 8 that is known as Block III of the Virginia-class submarine program. This group of ships being built will feature Large Aperture Bow(LAB) sonar array and two vertical launching systems containing six missiles each instead of the 12 vertical launch tubes that submarines built during the cold war era featured. This design doubled the payload space from 1200 cubic feet to 2300 cubic feet.
The USS Indiana is currently being built at the Huntington Ingalls Industries- Newport News Shipbuilding in Newport News, Virginia. It will be 7,800-tons and 377 feet in length with a 34 foot beam at it’s widest point measured at the ship’s existing waterline.
The informational visit from the high ranking officers is part of encouraging the public to find more out about the ships commissioning which is scheduled for some time in the beginning of 2018. By visiting Indiana Communities and businesses as part of an effort to raise awareness about the New Ship and Crew it also engages Hoosiers in the knowledge that nearly a hundred Indiana businesses are involved with manufacturing something for the Submarine program. Hoosier Hands are building the Hoosier Boat.
For more information on the USS Indiana SSN 789 visit the website www.ussindiana.org or to stay up to date on the new ships commissioning visit the Facebook page 
SSN789Commissioning
