SSN 750 Newport News

USS NEWPORT NEWS (SSN-750) is the eighth vessel to bear the name of the Virginia shipbuilding city.

The NEWPORT NEWS was commissioned in June 1989. Built with the latest sound quieting features and one of only a handful of submarines equipped with 12 vertically-launched Tomahawk cruise missiles mounted in her bow, NEWPORT NEWS entered the fleet fully ready for every operational assignment. Since that time, NEWPORT NEWS has enjoyed great successes during two northern Atlantic and two Med deployments. Particularly noteworthy was her emergent wartime deployment in support of Operation Desert Storm in January 1991, for which the ship was awarded the Southwest Asia Service Medal with one bronze star. In October 1994 NEWPORT NEWS was again called to the Persian Gulf region, becoming the first carrier battlegroup submarine ever to transit the Suez Canal. Bringing her formidable strike capabilities to bear within hours of the crisis, NEWPORT NEWS played a key role in the restoration of regional stability and proved the versatility of the Fast Attack submarine.

Additional accomplishments while deployed included special operations with NATO allies in support of Operation Sharpguard and participation in 50th Anniversary D-Day celebrations in England and France. The consistenly outstanding performance of NEWPORT NEWS has earned her the SubRon8 Engineering "E" Award for 1992 and 1993 and the Battle "E" for 1993, an award reserved for the Squadron's top performing submarine.

Since then, NEWPORT NEWS has gone on to receive the Battle "E" again for 1994.

The Newport News departed Nofolk on October 3, 2002 for a regularly scheduled deployment. During Operation Iraqi Freedom the submarine launched several Tomahawk cruise missile into Iraq.

USS Newport News (SSN 750) returned to Norfolk Naval Station on Feb. 15, 2005, after a six-month deployment. Newport News deployed to the North Atlantic in August 2004, conducting joint operations with allies. The ship then transited to the Central Command Area of Responsibility in support of national security interests and the global war on terrorism.