While each of our 22,500 employees brings a unique perspective to this work, our success lies in what they share in common—a dedication to protecting the sailors who operate in the world’s harshest environment. Whether their role is to engineer, design, procure, weld, rig, ship-fit, insulate, hang pipe, run electrical systems, assemble, paint, test, certify or support the business, our employees create submarines with unparalleled speed, stealth and superiority to help the U.S. Navy maintain our country’s dominance of the undersea domain.
This drive for excellence is reflected in our company’s purpose: we deliver the advantage that protects our sailors, our families and our freedom.
Now in its second century, the shipbuilders of General Dynamics Electric Boat have established the standard of excellence in the design, construction and life-cycle support of U.S. Navy submarines. In its position as industry leader, Electric Boat remains committed to advancing its technical strengths, while providing the business expertise to effectively manage the challenges of nuclear-submarine production. By applying an intensity of purpose to an unmatched level of shipbuilding expertise, Electric Boat's employees are confident of succeeding in this mission.
The company was established in New Jersey in 1899 to complete the world’s first practical submarine, the Holland, and has maintained a presence in Southeastern Connecticut since 1911 when it established an operation in Groton, Conn., to build diesel engines. Since launching the world’s first nuclear warship, the USS Nautilus, in 1954, Electric Boat has built most of the Navy’s nuclear submarines, and has designed 15 of 19 U.S. Navy nuclear submarine classes. Electric Boat has three primary sites – Groton and New London, Conn., and Quonset Point, R.I.
At Electric Boat, we are proud to provide the U.S. Navy with the most sophisticated machines in the world to defend our nation. Designing, building and maintaining a machine as complex as a submarine requires a unique mix of creativity and skill.
The construction process begins at Electric Boat’s Quonset Point facility where submarine hull sections, called modules, begin as sheets of steel that are fabricated and outfitted. As part of a teaming agreement, certain modules are manufactured by partner Newport News Shipbuilding. The modules are shipped by barge to the Groton shipyard for final assembly. Shipyard workers weld the circular modules together to form a pressure hull. Ship-wide testing of the boat then begins and the ship’s nuclear components are installed. The boat enters the water in a procedure known as “float-off,” the flooding of the graving dock in which the ship rests. After Electric Boat and the Navy complete operational tests on the stationary submarine, preparations begin for a series of sea trials. When all of the trials are completed successfully, the ship is delivered, commissioned and the U.S. Navy puts the submarine into service.