Huntington Ingalls Industries recently released this video of the Virginia-class submarine John Warner (SSN 785) being launched into the James River on Sept. 10 at the company’s Newport News Shipbuilding division. Once floating, three tugs moved the submarine, which was christened earlier in September, to the shipyard’s submarine pier, where final outfitting, testing and crew certification will take place over the next six months. Sea trials are to begin next year.

“The John Warner team has made tremendous progress over the last year,” said Jim Hughes, Newport News’ vice president of submarines and fleet support, in an accompanying release. “To see the submarine afloat in the James River just days after the christening is testament to the dedication and hard work of both the shipbuilders here at Newport News, as well those at our partner yard, Electric Boat.”

John Warner will be the sixth Virginia-class submarine delivered to the U.S. Navy by Newport News. The submarine, the first Virginia-class submarine to be named for a person, is on schedule to be delivered to the U.S. Navy in 2015.

“Having the submarine in the water allows us to test the remaining systems and improves the fidelity of the training that we are doing in preparation for crew certification,” said Cmdr. Dan Caldwell, the submarine’s prospective commanding officer. “The ship’s launching is an important milestone that puts us one step closer to our ultimate goal of taking this ship out to sea.”