The Navy said yesterday that it has awarded fixed-price contracts to General Dynamics [GD] Bath Iron Works and Huntington Ingalls Industries [HII] for the design and construction of at least two Arleigh Burke-class (DDG-51) destroyers.
Bath Iron Works received a $679.6-million contract to build the DDG-115, and as the lowest bidder, was offered an option for a second ship, the DDG-116, pending congressional approval, Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) said. The HII contract was valued at $697.6 million for construction of the DDG-114. The Navy in June gave HII at $783.5-million contract for the DDG-113 and for the first time revealed the value of that contract yesterday.
The awards were based on the 2009 Navy decision to restart production of the DDG-51, Sean Stackley, the Navy assistant secretary for acquisition, said. The contracts provide “increased air and missile defense for our future fleet and strengthening our industrial base–all the while, leveraging competition, incentivizing greater productivity and driving down costs,” he said.
The new ships will hit the fleet with Integrated Air and Missile Defense (IAMD) capability, which effectively fuses the Aegis Combat System with the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System.