USS ''Cheyenne'' (SSN-773), the final , is the third ship of the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

to be named for

Cheyenne, Wyoming Cheyenne ( or ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Wyoming, most populous city of the U.S. state of Wyoming. It is the county seat of Laramie County, Wyoming, Laramie County, with 65,132 reside ...

. The contract to build her was awarded to

Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS), a division of Huntington Ingalls Industries, is the sole designer, builder, and refueler of aircraft carriers and one of two providers of submarines for the United States Navy. Founded as the Chesapeake Dry Dock ...

Newport News, Virginia Newport News () is an Independent city (United States), independent city in southeastern Virginia, United States. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 186,247. Located in the Hampton Roads region, it is the List of c ...

on 28 November 1989 and her keel was laid down on 6 July 1992. She was launched on 16 April 1995 sponsored by Mrs. Ann Simpson, wife of Wyoming Senator

Alan K. Simpson Alan Kooi Simpson (September 2, 1931 – March 14, 2025) was an American politician from Wyoming. A member of the Republican Party, he served as a member of the United States Senate from 1979 to 1997. Simpson was Republican Senate whip from 198 ...

, and commissioned on 13 September 1996, with Commander Peter H. Ozimik in command. ''Cheyenne'' transferred to her homeport of

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Reci ...

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

, in 1998. ''Cheyenne'' served as a trials platform for flat-screen, interoperative

sonar Sonar (sound navigation and ranging or sonic navigation and ranging) is a technique that uses sound propagation (usually underwater, as in submarine navigation) to navigate, measure distances ( ranging), communicate with or detect objects o ...

displays based on commercially available equipment. ''Cheyenne'' was the first ship to launch Tomahawk missiles in

Operation Iraqi Freedom The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with the invasion by a United States-led coalition, which resulted in the overthrow of the Ba'athist governm ...

under the command of CDR Charles Doty. ''Cheyenne'' would go on to successfully launch her entire complement of Tomahawks, earning a " clean sweep" for combat actions in the final three months of a nine-month

deployment Deployment may refer to: * Military deployment, the movement of armed forces and their logistical support * Software deployment, all of the activities that make a software system available for use * System deployment The deployment of a mecha ...

. This dubbed her "First To Strike". Her motto is "Ride the Legend". USS ''Cheyenne'' was the final ''Los Angeles''–class submarine built. Following the construction of USS ''Cheyenne'', Newport News began preparation for construction of the .

History

Between 25 and 27 March 2006, a series of anti-submarine warfare exercises were held in Hawaiian waters that included USS ''Cheyenne'';

Carrier Strike Group Nine Carrier Strike Group 9 (CSG-9 or CARSTRKGRU 9) is a U.S. Navy carrier strike group. Commander Carrier Strike Group 9 (COMCARSTRKGRU 9 or CCSG 9) is responsible for unit-level training, integrated training, and material readiness for the ships an ...

, the nuclear-powered attack submarines , , , and , as well as land-based P-3 Orion aircraft from patrol squadrons

VP-4 Patrol Squadron Four (VP-4) is a U.S. Navy land-based patrol squadron based at the Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, Oak Harbor, Washington, which is tasked to undertake maritime patrol, anti-submarine warfare (ASW), and intelligence, surveillan ...

VP-9 Patrol Squadron 9 (VP-9) is a U.S. Navy patrol squadron with its homeport located at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island. As of 2018, VP-9 is part of Patrol and Reconnaissance Wing Ten, Commander, Naval Air Forces, Pacific. The squadron was esta ...

, and

VP-47 Patrol Squadron 47 (VP-47), also known as "The Golden Swordsmen", is a maritime patrol squadron of the United States Navy based at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, Washington (USA), attached to Patrol and Reconnaissance Wing 10. The squadron ...

. In June 2021, ''Cheyenne'' shifted her homeport from Pearl Harbor to Groton, CT, joining Submarine Squadron (SUBRON) 12. ''Cheyenne'' moved to

Naval Submarine Base New London Naval Submarine Base New London is the primary United States Navy East Coast submarine base, also known as the "Home of the Submarine Force." It is located in Groton, Connecticut directly across the Thames River from its namesake city of New L ...

in order to prepare for upcoming refueling and maintenance intended to extend the service life of the submarine by 10 years. ''Cheyenne'' arrived in November 2021 at

Portsmouth Naval Shipyard The Portsmouth Naval Shipyard (PNS), often called the Portsmouth Navy Yard, is a United States Navy shipyard on Seavey's Island in Kittery, Maine, bordering Portsmouth, New Hampshire. The naval yard lies along the southern boundary of Maine on ...

Kittery, Maine Kittery is a town in York County, Maine, United States, and the oldest incorporated town in Maine. Home to the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard on Seavey's Island, Kittery includes Badger's Island, the seaside district of Kittery Point, and part of ...

to begin a service-life extension program (SLEP) expected to take 30 months and cost $315 million. In December 2021,

Submarine Squadron 2 Submarine Squadron Two (SUBRON 2) is a United States Navy submarine squadron based at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, Maine. History Submarine Squadron 2 started World War II at Mariveles Naval Section Base in the Philippines as part of t ...

was re-established at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard and ''Cheyenne'' was transferred to this new command. ''Cheyenne'' is the first of seven Los Angeles-class subs to undergo this SLEP and was also the first vessel in April 2022 to dock in Portsmouth Naval Shipyard's newly improved Dry Dock 1 using the Super Flood Basin.

In popular culture

*''Cheyenne'' is the primary subject of the book '' SSN'' by

Tom Clancy Thomas Leo Clancy Jr. (April 12, 1947 – October 1, 2013) was an American novelist. He is best known for his technically detailed espionage and military science, military-science storylines set during and after the Cold War. Seventeen of ...

, battling the

People's Liberation Army Navy The People's Liberation Army Navy, also known as the People's Navy, PLA Navy or simply Chinese Navy, is the naval warfare military branch, branch of the People's Liberation Army, the national military of the People's Republic of China. It i ...

in a fictional war over the

Spratly Islands The Spratly Islands (; zh, s=南沙群岛, t=南沙群島, p=Nánshā Qúndǎo; ; ) are a disputed archipelago in the South China Sea. Composed of islands, islets, cays, and more than 100 reefs, sometimes grouped in submerged old atoll ...

. She is also featured in the video game by Tom Clancy called '' SSN''. *In the 2000 novel '' Quicksilver'' by

Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens are a ''New York Times''-bestselling husband-and-wife writing/producing team. In June, 2013, at the Constellation Awards ceremony in Toronto, the writing couple were honored with the Constellation Award for "Ou ...

, ''Cheyenne'' was ordered to fire a Tomahawk TLAM Block Four cruise missile, under manual control of Weapons Officer Lt. Miken Marano, at the River Entrance of

the Pentagon The Pentagon is the headquarters building of the United States Department of Defense, in Arlington County, Virginia, across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. The building was constructed on an accelerated schedule during World War II. As ...

. *In ''To the Death'' by Patrick Robinson, ''Cheyenne'' is tasked with shadowing an Iranian

Kilo Kilo may refer to: *kilo- (k-), a metric prefix denoting a factor of 103 *Kilogram (kg), a metric unit of mass Music *Kilo, a funk/R&B band from Bloomington/Indianapolis/Indiana *KILO, a Colorado radio station *''El Kilo'', a 2005 album by th ...

on a path through the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...

References

External links

* 1995 ships Submarines of the United States Los Angeles-class submarines Nuclear submarines of the United States Navy Ships built in Newport News, Virginia {{US-submarine-stub