[8] She represents the most advanced submarine model in the U.S. Navy, incorporating the latest technologies in stealth, propulsion, intelligence gathering, and weaponry.

New Mexico is designed to carry out a wide variety of blue water and littoral operations, including anti-ship warfare, surveillance, and reconnaissance.

[10] Construction was awarded on 14 August 2003 to Northrop Grumman Newport News, which built the submarine through a joint agreement between General Dynamics Electric Boat (GDEB).

[16] New Mexico completed builder's trials at the end of November 2009[17] and was delivered on 29 December 2009, four months ahead of the contract delivery date.

[19] In February 2012, New Mexico rendezvoused with Royal Navy submarine HMS Astute (S119) underwater in the Atlantic Undersea Test and Evaluation Center, Bahamas, for a series of war games.

[20][21] The design incorporates an image of a New Mexico sunset, which casts the Sandia Mountains in the pink shade for which they are named.

[20][21] The atom symbol in the bottom left corner has two meanings: It represents the nuclear-powered nature of the Virginia-class submarines and the fact many advancements in nuclear science have taken place in New Mexico at Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) and Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL).