Navy awards contracts for work on U.S. destroyers Stethem, Decatur, Stockdale

Sept. 18 (UPI) -- Three of the Navy's guided-missile destroyers are set to receive maintenance, upgrades and modernization with the award of three contracts to two companies.

The U.S. Navy awarded contracts to BAE Systems and General Dynamics for work on the USS Stethem, USS Decatur and USS Stockdale, the Pentagon said on Tuesday.

BAE Systems San Diego Ship Repair received separate contracts for maintenance, modernization, and repair of the USS Stethem and the USS Decatur.

The "long term" contracts, known as Extended Dry-Docking Selected Restricted Availability, were solicited seeking a West Coast contractor.

BAE will provide the facilities and human resources for completing, coordinating, and integrating multiple areas of ship maintenance, repair and modernization for the ships, according to the contract announcement. The company will perform hull, mechanical and engineering repairs aboard each 505-foot-ling ship.

The award of the firm-fixed-price contract on the USS Stethem, a ship commissioned in 1995, totals $84.5 million, with options that could bring it to $96.1 million.

The USS Decatur contract is valued at $86.1 million, with options that potentially could raise it to $88.8 million. The USS Decatur was commissioned in 1998.

In both cases, the work will be performed in San Diego, with expected completion by October 2020. The synchronized two-ship docking and repair will be a first for the company's newest dry-dock in San Diego.

"The ability to simultaneously dock two DDGs is a special capability that BAE Systems brings to our Navy customer and comes at a critical time when additional throughput is necessary to meet surface combatant demands and modernization requirements," said David M. Thomas Jr., vice president and general manager of BAE Systems San Diego Ship Repair.

In a separate award, General Dynamics National Steel and Shipbuilding Co. received a $21.1 million contract for selected restricted availability depot-level maintenance, alterations and modifications to the USS Stockdale, a guided missile destroyer commissioned in 2009.

The deal calls for work to be completed by May 2020 and includes options that could improve the firm-fixed-price contract to $21.3 million, according to the Pentagon.