General Dynamics gets $432 million submarine contract upgrade

Dec. 6 (UPI) -- Submarine designer and builder General Dynamics Electric Boat received a $432 million modification to a U.S. Navy contract, the Defense Department announced.

The cost-plus-fixed-fee plan for fiscal year 2018 calls for additional lead yard services, in which submarines are prepared to meet or exceed fleet requirements, and the development, design and testing of Virginia-class submarines. Most of the work will be conducted at General Dynamics' Groton, Conn., facility, a Department of Defense statement said Tuesday.

Virginia-class, or SSN-774-class, submarines are nuclear-powered, fast-attack vessels with photonic- and camera-intensive arrays.

The submarines can operate in shallow coastal water, and are less expensive than the Los Angeles-class submarines from the Cold War era they replace, according to the U.S. Navy.

The U.S. Navy's 14th Virginia-class submarine, the USS Washington, was commissioned into service in October.

Thomas Dee, performing the duties of the Under Secretary of the Navy at the commissioning ceremony, said in a statement at the time, "The future USS Washington is among the most technologically advanced platforms in the world," adding that it "represents the spirit, ingenuity and strength of the American people."