Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) yesterday said that after months of negotiations, the Assistant Secretary of the Navy, Sean Stackley, called to say the Navy and General Dynamics [GD]-Bath Iron Works (BIW) have reached an agreement for the second and third DDG-1000 that will be built in Bath, Maine.
Collins, a member of both the Senate Armed Services Committee and the Senate Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, said she has always been a stalwart supporter of BIW and has fought to secure appropriate funding for the DDG-1000 program. For many months, she has actively worked to encourage the Navy to finalize these contracts in an effort to secure a steady workload at BIW.
“This is incredibly welcome news for Maine and is a testament to the highly skilled, hard-working men and women at Bath Iron Works,” Collins said in a statement. “My goal has always been to help ensure a steady work flow at BIW and a strong industrial base for shipbuilding. That is why, despite repeated efforts in the House to cut funding, I fought hard for full funding for all three DDG-1000 ships, and I am delighted that an agreement has been reached.
The DDG-1000 Zumwalt-class of ships represents the Navy’s next generation of multi-mission surface combatants with capabilities tailored for land attack and littoral dominance that can defeat current and projected threats. According to the Navy, DDG-1000 will triple naval surface fires coverage as well as tripling capability against anti-ship cruise missiles. DDG-1000 has a 50-fold radar cross section reduction compared to current destroyers and has 10 times the operating area in shallow water regions against mines. The DDG-1000 also can operate with a significantly smaller crew, saving money in personnel costs.
“With the existing construction contract for the program’s first ship–DDG1000–which was awarded in 2008, this agreement will bring BIW’s construction contracts for the three DDG-1000 ships to a level that will be more than $3 billion,” Collins said.
All three DDG-1000 ships were authorized in Fiscal Year 2007 and FY 2009. Funding for the ships was provided in FY 2007–FY 2010, during which time Collins had to fight attempts by defense committees in the House to significantly reduce funding for the DDG-1000 program.