GROTON, Conn., Nov. 5, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- General
Dynamics Electric Boat, a business unit of General Dynamics
(NYSE:GD), announced today that the U.S. Navy has awarded it a
$9.474 billion contract modification
option for construction and test of the lead and second ships of
the Columbia class, as well as
associated design and engineering support.
Electric Boat is the prime contractor on the Columbia program, which will replace the aging
Ohio class of ballistic missile
submarines.
Electric Boat will perform about 78% of the construction of the
Columbia class and recently
shifted the program to full-scale construction at the company's
manufacturing complex in Quonset Point, Rhode Island. Construction of four of the
six 'supermodules' will take place at Electric Boat's Quonset Point facility. The supermodules
will then be transported by barge to the company's Final Test and
Assembly yard in Groton,
Connecticut, where the components will be assembled into a
complete submarine in a 200,000 square-foot facility now under
construction specifically for the Columbia class.
General Dynamics recently reported that the design maturity for
Columbia was almost 90% complete,
nearly twice the level of design completion of the lead
Virginia-class submarine when it started construction.
"Electric Boat has been making preparations for construction of
the Columbia class for nearly a
decade, including advancing the design of this critical Navy asset,
hiring and training thousands of skilled tradespeople, modernizing
our facilities and helping to bolster the supply base. As a
result, Columbia's design is more
advanced than that of any previous submarine program," said
Kevin Graney, president of General
Dynamics Electric Boat. "We are grateful for the unwavering support
of the Navy and Congress in securing funding to avoid disruption of
this critical program."
At 560 feet long with a displacement of nearly 21,000 tons, the
submarines of the Columbia class
will be the largest ever built by the United States. Ships of
the Columbia class will have a
life-of-ship fuel core that will power the submarine for its entire
service life, eliminating the need for a mid-service
refueling. Electric Boat will deliver the lead ship to the
Navy in 2027.
General Dynamics is a global aerospace and defense company that
offers a broad portfolio of products and services in business
aviation; combat vehicles, weapons systems and munitions; IT
services; C4ISR solutions; and shipbuilding and ship repair.
General Dynamics employs more than 100,000 people worldwide and
generated $39.4 billion in revenue in
2019. More information about Electric Boat is available at
www.gdeb.com. More information about General Dynamics is available
at www.gd.com.
View original content to download
multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/general-dynamics-electric-boat-awarded-9-5-billion-by-us-navy-for-columbia-class-submarines-301167609.html
SOURCE General Dynamics Electric Boat