Navy taps BAE Systems for USS Anzio modernization

Dec. 20 (UPI) -- The U.S. Navy guided missile cruiser USS Anzio is to undergo six months of modernization work at a BAE Systems facility in Norfolk, Va., the company announced on Wednesday

Under a $45.3 million contract -- $53.1 million if all options are exercised -- the cruiser will receive alterations and miscellaneous repairs, including replacement of critical aluminum structures, BAE Systems said.

The work on the 567-foot ship is scheduled to start in February.

BAE's Norfolk shipyard is currently conducting long-term modernization work aboard the USS Vicksburg.

"As our team wraps up the first stage of modernization work aboard the Vicksburg, we look forward to the arrival of the Anzio soon afterwards to start its cruiser-mod program," Dave Thomas, vice president and general manager of BAE Systems Norfolk Ship Repair, said in a press release.

"This contract, along with other recent ship repair contracts, provides important work for our shipyard team, particularly for our skilled employees who work with aluminum structures aboard Navy ships."

The USS Anzio was commissioned in May 1992. The ship is the third East Coast-based guided-missile cruiser to undergo the extensive upgrade work under the Navy's long-term cruiser modernization program.

In addition to the Vicksburg, the company's Norfolk shipyard has begun modernization work aboard the USS Gettysburg.