Colorado’s namesake attack submarine, the USS Colorado (SSN 788), returned to port in Connecticut on Sunday after nearly seven months abroad, a U.S. Navy news release states.

Under the leadership of Cmdr. Garth Storz, the USS Colorado, a Virginia-class fast attack submarine, traveled more than 45,000 nautical miles during its deployment before returning to its headquarters with Submarine Squadron 4 at Naval Submarine Base New London in Groton, Connecticut.

“There is no more joyous occasion than a deployed submarine returning home to friends and family,” Capt. John Stafford, Submarine Squadron 4’s commanding officer, said in the press release. “These Sailors and their families are examples of the best our nation has to offer. Welcome home.”

Virginia class, aka the VA-class or 774 class, which refers to a subsection of nuclear-powered fast-attack submarines. Designed for an array of open-ocean and near shore missions, VA-class submarines were conceived as a lower-cost alternative to the Seawolf-class attack submarines of the Cold War Era, the release states.

Identified as a nuclear submarine by the designator SSN 788, the USS Colorado is the fourth U.S. Navy ship named for the Centennial State, and the first since the battleship USS Colorado was decommissioned in 1947.

The USS Colorado is more than 377 feet long and can displace nearly 7,900 tons.

The boat’s family readiness group is led by Trisha Cook, whose husband serves on the USS Colorado.

“Seeing everyone’s smiling faces, knowing that the long wait is finally over, is something to cherish,” Cook said in the release. “We know our sailors are just as excited to see us on the pier waiting for their arrival. Today, our families are finally whole again.”