New Hampshire (SSN 778), the US Navy's latest Virginia-class nuclear attack submarine, was scheduled to be christened on 21 June at the ship's construction facilities at General Dynamics Electric Boat (GDEB) in Groton, Connecticut. Construction of the boat is several months ahead of schedule, General Dynamics spokesman Robert Hamilton told Jane's. The company hopes to commence sea trials by the end of August and deliver the ship in 2008 instead of its projected 2009 timeframe. Hamilton said that the accelerated schedule is part of a blueprint to decrease construction costs by reducing the amount of time spent in the shipyards. One method that General Dynamics has employed in an attempt to reduce the dry-docking schedule is to complete the ship's hull coating prior to delivery to the fleet. "With the hull coating already in place, the ship will do its year of operations then come back in for its maintenance and modernisation period, but that period will last a matter of weeks as opposed to up to a year," explained Hamilton.
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