WASHINGTON, June 18 (UPI) -- DRS Technologies, a New Jersey company, has been selected to design the steam turbines that will power the next generation of U.S. aircraft carriers.
DRS said Friday it had received a $5.6 million contract for the design of the critical turbines that will provide both propulsion and electric power for the CVN-78 class nuclear carriers that will start joining the fleet in the next decade.
DRS said the turbines would be designed at its offices in Fitchburg, Mass., and will require less maintenance and fewer personnel than current carrier turbines. They will also provide greater loads of electricity to drive the ships' increased high-tech infrastructure.
The ships themselves will be built in Newport News by General Dynamics.
DRS is also designing engines and power plants for the Navy's new DD(X) destroyers.
