HII tapped for services on Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyers

April 17 (UPI) -- Huntington Ingalls was awarded a contract from the U.S. Navy for follow yard services to support Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyers.

The deal, announced Monday by the Department of Defense, is valued at more than $27 million under the terms of a cost-plus-award-fee contract.

The contract awarded by Naval Sea Systems Command enables Huntington Ingalls to provide a host of services for the Arleigh Burke class, from engineering and material procurement services to technology support and crew indoctrination.

Additionally, the contract will allow Huntington Ingalls to provide analysis and design a modified guided missile destroyer for potential foreign military sales sponsored by the Navy and the Defense Department.

The Pentagon says that if options built into the contract are exercised, the overall cumulative value of the contract could surge to more than $181.4 million.

Work on the contract will occur in Mississippi, Washington, D.C., and Maine. Work is expected to be complete in April 2019 -- but if options are implemented, completion will expand to April 2023.

More than $25.5 million will be obligated to Huntington Ingalls at time of award from Navy fiscal 2018, 2014 and 2017 shipbuilding and conversion funds, the Pentagon said.

The obligated funds will not expire at the current fiscal year.