"Today's submarine force is the most capable force in the world and in the history of the U.S. Navy," Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro said Monday in a news release. "It is my honor and privilege to announce the names of the future attack submarines which will protect us from deep below the ocean's waves."
Those vessels are Virginia-class attack submarines and will be named the USS Potomac, USS Norfolk and USS Brooklyn.
The Potomac's name honors the river that flows along the nation's Eastern Seaboard from West Virginia past Washington, D.C., and into Chesapeake Bay.
The Norfolk honors the Virginia city of the same name, while the Brooklyn is named after the New York City borough.
Lisa Collis, who is married to Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., is the sponsor of the USS Potomac.
Anne Holton is married to Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., and is the sponsor of the USS Norfolk, while Dorothy McAuliffe, who is married to former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, sponsors the USS Brooklyn.
The three nuclear attack submarines are designed to seek out and destroy enemy surface ships and submarines while projecting U.S. naval power over land masses.
The submarines will be armed with Tomahawk cruise missiles and special operations forces capable of carrying out intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions while supporting battle group operations.
The submarines also will target and destroy mines that might pose dangers to military and commercial vessels.
A fourth planned submarine, the Columbia-class USS Groton, honors the Connecticut port town of the same name will be among new ballistic-missile submarines that replace the aging Ohio-class ballistic-missile submarines that currently are deployed.
The Groton would be the third Columbia-class submarine deployed upon entering service.
"Naming the USS Groton recognizes this iconic Connecticut town as the submarine capital of the world -- honoring the unsurpassed skill and dedication of men and women who work there," Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said Monday in a news release.
"Groton has a rich shipbuilding legacy, and proven commitment to our national defense -- manufacturing and maintaining vital weapons platforms, sustaining our undersea superiority," Blumenthal added.
His wife, Cynthia Blumenthal, is the vessel's sponsor.
The Columbia-class submarines provide the U.S. Navy with underwater stealth launch platforms for ballistic missiles containing nuclear warheads and are expected to enter service by 2031.
The new submarines are in addition to the two new nuclear-powered aircraft carriers announced by the U.S. Navy on Monday.
Those aircraft carriers will be named the USS William J. Clinton and USS George W. Bush and are scheduled for deployment in the mid-2030s.
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