USS Montana On Track To Be State-Of-The-Art Nuclear Submarine

 John Emeigh, KXLF

20 February 2018 

BUTTE - Montana is nowhere near the ocean, but a new submarine named after the Treasure State is expected to rule the high seas.

“It’s a dangerous time in this world and it will be increasingly so, so we need nuclear attack submarines like the USS Montana. And it will build on the legacy of the first USS Montana, that was an armored cruiser back in 1908,” said Bill Whitsitt, chairman of the USS Montana Committee.

Whitsitt gave a presentation at the Butte Exchange Club Tuesday about this massive Virginia-Class nuclear fast-attack submarine that has many capabilities.

“It’s got a lot of intelligence gathering capabilities, it’s got of course torpedoes, but it also carries land-attack missiles or Tomahawk cruise missiles,” said Whitsitt.

Whitsitt notes that North Korea has more submarines than the U.S., and Russia and China continue to build more submarines.

“We’ve in the past been able to counter our lack of numbers with the technology edge that we have, but now their technology is getting better and better, so ours has to keep pace and that’s why we have this new version of a submarine,” he said.

The USS Montana is currently being constructed in Newport News, Virginia and is expected to be commissioned by 2020. It weighs more than 7,000 tons and is longer than a football field.