The Naval Sea Systems Command awarded General Dynamics’ [GD] Bath Iron Works (BIW) a $911 million modification to exercise an FY 2019 option to build the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer DDG-132.
General Dynamics underscored this is the fifth DDG-51 ship under a multi-year award first announced in September. While BIW won four ships and Huntington Ingalls Industries [HII] won five ships in the earlier award, the Navy held a separate competition for an additional option destroyer, which BIW has now won (Defense Daily, Sept. 28).
The earlier GD and HII awards included one Flight III DDG-51 destroyer for each producer per year from FY 2019 – 2022.
The new Flight III destroyers notably include a new and more capable AN/SPY-6 air and missile defense radar (AMDR) and modifications to support the system.
The new modification, awarded on Dec. 21, also covers options for engineering change proposals, design budgeting requirements, and post-delivery availabilities. If all of the options are used, it would raise the total value of the DDG-132 order to nearly $922 million.
Work will mostly occur in Bath, Maine, and is expected to be finished by May 2026. The full initial modification value was obligated at award time.
HII started construction on the first Flight III DDG-51, the future Jack H. Lucas (DDG-125), in May 2018.