The contract to build Kentucky was awarded to the Electric Boat Division of General Dynamics Corporation in Groton, Connecticut, on 13 August 1985 and her keel was laid down there on 18 December 1987.

On 19 March 1998 south of Long Island, New York, Kentucky collided with the attack submarine USS San Juan (SSN-751).

[citation needed] In both 2001 and 2002, Kentucky's Gold Crew won first place in the United States Atlantic Fleet in the Captain Edward F. Ney Memorial Award Submarine Afloat Galley competition for outstanding food service.

[9] In January 2012 USS Kentucky entered her Engineering Refueling Overhaul (ERO) at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard.

[10] On 7 November 2015, an unarmed missile launched from Kentucky during a test caused buzz on social media as it was mistaken for a UFO or meteor.