WASHINGTON, Dec. 30 (UPI) -- An industry team led by Lockheed Martin has been awarded a fixed-price-incentive-fee contract by the U.S. Navy to construct up to 10 Littoral Combat Ships.
The first of the 10 ships will be acquired in 2010 at a contract value of $437 million and the rest via options through 2015. If all options are exercised, the total value of the ship construction portion of the contract will reach about $3.6 billion.
Marinette Marine Corp., a Fincantieri company, will construct the ships in Marinette, Wis., and naval architect Gibbs & Cox will provide engineering and design support.
"The Lockheed Martin team's Littoral Combat Ship is designed to confront rapidly changing global threats while providing a cost-effective solution in an era of tight budgets," said Lockheed Martin Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Bob Stevens. "This team's strong performance will enable the Navy to deploy a class of affordable, multi-mission combatants to address the nation's needs for decades to come."
Prior to this contract, the Lockheed Martin industry team designed and constructed the nation's first LCS, USS Freedom. Commissioned in 2008, USS Freedom completed its first deployment this year.
LCS 3, the Navy's future USS Fort Worth and Lockheed Martin's second LCS, is more than 80 percent complete and was recently christened and launched.
