Initial sea trials completed for US Navy submarine Massachusetts

As with her Virginia-class sisters, the submarine will be capable of operating in littoral and deep waters. Missions will include anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface ship warfare, strike warfare, special operations forces support, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, irregular warfare, and mine warfare.

The future Massachusetts measures 377 feet (114 metres) long and 34 feet (10.3 metres) wide. She will be able to dive to depths greater than 800 feet (240 metres).

The Virginia-class submarines were conceived as a less expensive alternative to the Seawolf-class boats, which were designed during the Cold War era, and are replacing older Los Angeles-class submarines.