On Saturday October 10th, USS Illinois (SSN 786) was Christened at General Dynamics Electric Boat in Groton, CT. The First Lady, Michelle Obama, is the Ship’s Sponsor and broke a bottle of sparkling wine on the sail of ILLINOIS to conclude the event. There were about 3,000 in attendance including several hundred from the state of Illinois on a beautiful New England fall day. Secretary of the Navy, Ray Mabus was the Principal Speaker with additional remarks from Congressional officials from Illinois, Connecticut and Rhode Island as well as the Governor of Illinois, Bruce Rauner.

USS Colorado will be the next boat to be Christened at Electric Boat which is expected sometime in late spring or early summer next year. The hull of COLORADO could be seen in the construction hall behind ILLINOIS.

Here are some pictures from the ceremony.

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Here is a short video of the bottle break.