BAE awarded $101M in contracts for maintenance on three Navy ships

Dec. 27 (UPI) -- BAE Systems has been awarded three contracts by the U.S. Navy in support of two Arleigh Burke-class destroyers and an Avenger-class mine countermeasures ship.

The terms of the contracts, with a total value of more than $101 million, were announced Tuesday by the Department of Defense.

The contracts for the USS Howard and USS Oscar Austin, both of which are Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, come under firm-fixed-price agreements, meaning that potential overrun costs will not be reimbursed to BAE Systems by the U.S. government.

Work on the USS Howard will include maintenance in multiple areas of the ship, along with repairs and modernization. Built into the contract is an option that would bring the contract from $47.8 million to $66.5 million, if exercised.

Similarly, the USS Oscar Austin will undergo a combination of maintenance, modernization and repair. Like the Howard, the contract for the Oscar Austin also includes options that would bring the total value of the deal from more than $41.5 million to more than $117.1 million.

Work on the USS Howard will occur in San Diego, Calif., while work on the USS Oscar Austin will be performed in Norfolk, Va.

Work on the Howard is expected to be complete by May 2019, while the Oscar Austin will see completion in February 2019, the Pentagon said.

For the USS Champion MCM-4, the terms of that deal are under a cost-plus-award-fee, incentive-fee modification to a previously awarded contract, which is a cost-reimbursement contract where depending on the performance of BAE Systems, additional money could be gained by the defense contractor for "excellence in contract performance."

The USS Champion will be undergoing its docking phrase, with the ship receiving "depot-level maintenance, alterations, and modifications that will update and improve the ship's military and technical capabilities."

More than $101 million has been obligated to BAE at the time of awards.