The U.S. Navy is set to commission its 16th Virginia-class fast attack submarine during a ceremony on Saturday at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station’s naval port.Diane Donald, wife of retired Adm. Kirkland Donald, will order the activation of the future USS Indiana, or SSN 789, during the ceremony. Rep. Jim Banks, R-Ind. will serve as principal speaker, the Navy said Thursday.
The submarine is equipped with new payload technologies as the sixth Block III unit within the Virginia class.
Huntington Ingalls Industries‘ Newport News Shipbuilding Division began the SSN 789’s construction in 2012 and delivered the vessel to the Navy in June this year.
