General Dynamics gets multimillion-dollar contracts for major naval vessel design work

WASHINGTON, 17 Oct. 2005. U.S. Navy officials are looking to shipbuilding divisions of General Dynamics Corp. for major surface ship and submarine work.

General Dynamics received contracts Oct. 14 worth $385.6 million to move ahead with design work on the future Littoral Combat Ship (LCS), and to convert a ballistic missile submarine to a cruise-missile platform.

General Dynamics Bath Iron Works in Bath, Me., won a $223.3 million contract modification for detail design and construction of one Flight 0 Littoral Combat Ship, which will be a networked, agile, and high-speed surface combatant with war-fighting capabilities optimized for shallow-water and coastal operations.

Work will be in Mobile, Ala. (50 percent), Pittsfield, Mass. (33 percent), Bath, Me., (15 percent), and Baltimore, Md. (2 percent), and should be finished by October 2007.

Awarding the contract were officials of the U.S. Naval Sea Systems Command in Washington.

Also on Oct. 14, General Dynamics Electric Boat Corp. in Groton, Conn., won a $162.4 million contract modification to convert the ballistic missile submarine USS Georgia from Ohio Class ballistic missile submarine SSBN 729 to Ohio Class guided missile submarine SSGN 729

The conversion happen at the same time as the boat's engineered refueling overhaul at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard. Work will be in Norfolk, Va. (77 percent), Quonset Point, R.I. (16 percent), and Groton, Conn. (7 percent), and should be finished by September 2007.

Awarding this contract were officials of the U.S. Naval Sea Systems Command in Washington.