Advertisement

USS Washington set to receive more than $20 million in 'finishing touches'

By James LaPorta
The Virginia-class attack submarine USS Washington sits pierside at Naval Station Norfolk prior to the boat’s commissioning ceremony on Oct. 7, 2017. Washington is the U.S. Navy's 14th Virginia-class attack submarine and the third commissioned Navy ship named for the State of Washington. Photo by Chief Mass Communication Specialist Darryl I. Wood/U.S. Navy
The Virginia-class attack submarine USS Washington sits pierside at Naval Station Norfolk prior to the boat’s commissioning ceremony on Oct. 7, 2017. Washington is the U.S. Navy's 14th Virginia-class attack submarine and the third commissioned Navy ship named for the State of Washington. Photo by Chief Mass Communication Specialist Darryl I. Wood/U.S. Navy

Oct. 12 (UPI) -- U.S. Navy officials on Wednesday awarded General Dynamics Electric Boat Corp., a $20 million cost-plus-fixed-fee modification for the planning and execution of the USS Washington, a Virginia-class nuclear-powered fast attack submarine.

GD's Electric Boat Corp., out of Groton, Ct., was awarded the contract modification after a previous 14-year contract was approved between the Department of Defense and General Dynamics. The original contract called for a ceiling cap of over $21 billion dollars, with more than $15 billion dollars -- or 73 percent of the ultimate contract value -- being distributed with the USS Washington's delivery to the Navy.

Advertisement

The ship, named for the state of Washington, was commissioned earlier this month and is the 14th Virginia-class, or Block III, variant submarine in the U.S. Navy. Construction of the ship began in 2011.

Block III Virginia-class submarines feature a redesigned bow, which replaces 12 individual launch tubes with two large-diameter Virginia Payload Tubes, each capable of launching six Tomahawk cruise missiles.

"The future USS Washington is among the most technologically advanced platforms in the world," Thomas Dee said earlier this month while performing the duties of the undersecretary of the Navy ahead of the vessel's commissioning.

Advertisement

"This submarine not only represents the spirit, ingenuity and strength of the American people, but also recognizes the critical role that the State of Washington provides to our national security."

The additional cost-plus-fixed-fee contract calls for post delivery work on the USS Washington, which will include long-lead-time material procurement in preparation to accomplish the maintenance, repair, alterations, testing and among other work.

Nearly all of the work will be executed in Newport News, Va., and is expected to be completed by February 2018. Funding for the post delivery work on the USS Washington will derive from fiscal years 2015, 2016 and 2017 shipbuilding and conversion funds in the amount of the cost-plus-fixed-fee modification.

Latest Headlines