Newport News Shipbuilding, a division of Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE:HII), will host a keel laying ceremony on May 20, 2011 for Minnesota (SSN 783), the third U.S. Navy ship named for the north star state.

Ellen Roughead, wife of Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Gary Roughead, will serve as the ship's sponsor and keel authenticator for the ceremony. Roughead will authenticate the keel by chalking her initials onto a metal plate. Her initials are then welded onto the plate, which will be permanently affixed to the ship.

Minnesota will be the 10th of a projected 30 Virginia-class submarines. Construction began in February 2008 and her name was announced on July 15, 2008. The name Minnesota was selected to honor the state's residents and their continued support of the U.S. military. The state is home to 46 Medal of Honor recipients that span from the Civil War to the Vietnam War.

Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) designs, builds and maintains nuclear and non-nuclear ships for the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard and provides after-market services for military ships around the globe. For more than a century, HII has built more ships in more ship classes than any other U.S. naval shipbuilder. Employing nearly 38,000 in Virginia, Mississippi, Louisiana and California, its primary business divisions are Newport News Shipbuilding and Ingalls Shipbuilding. For more information, please visit www.huntingtoningalls.com.