The Associated Press
INDIANAPOLIS — One of the U.S. Navy's next five attack submarines will be named the USS Indiana in the Hoosier state's first such honor in a half-century.
Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus announced Friday that the Virginia-class attack sub would become the third ship to bear Indiana's name. He noted that Indiana is the home of the Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane Division in the southern Indiana community of Crane.
Gov. Mitch Daniels calls the honor "a proud and happy day for the nation's most patriotic state."
Four other Virginia-class, nuclear-powered subs will be named after the states of Colorado, Illinois, South Dakota and Washington.
Each of the subs are 377 feet long and weigh 7,800 tons. The USS Indiana will be built at Newport News, Va.
