SSN-719 USS Providence poster art. USS Providence (SSN-719), a Los Angeles-class submarine, is the fifth ship of the United States Navy to be named for Providence, Rhode Island. The contract to build her was awarded to the Electric Boat Division of General Dynamics Corporation in Groton, Connecticut on 16 April 1979 and her keel was laid down on 14 October 1982. She was launched on 4 August 1984 sponsored by Mrs. William F. Smith, andcommissioned on 27 July 1985, with Captain E. Morrow in command. Providence is the first Los Angeles class submarine to be equipped with the Tomahawk missile Vertical Launch System (VLS). While others used test boxes and programs, Providence was the first submarine to launch a Tomahawk cruise missile from the VLS system using its combat system CCS MK1 and associated software C4.1. The submarine is currently active and assigned to Submarine Development Squadron 12 at US Naval Submarine Base New London, Groton, Connecticut.
