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NASSCO Delivers the USNS Pomeroy to the U.S. Navy

SAN DIEGO, Calif. – National Steel and Shipbuilding Company (NASSCO), a wholly owned subsidiary of General Dynamics (NYSE: GD), today announced the delivery of the USNS Pomeroy (T-AKR 316) to the U.S. Navy. The Pomeroy is the seventh new construction ship completed by NASSCO under the U.S. Navy's Strategic Sealift Program.

"Delivery of the Pomeroy continues NASSCO’s string of successes with ships in this class," said Richard Vortmann, NASSCO president. "Like its predecessors, the Pomeroy was delivered ahead of schedule, under target cost, and with zero quality discrepancies."

A total of eight new construction ships and three ship conversions have been awarded to NASSCO under the Navy’s 20-ship Strategic Sealift Program. All of the ships are being named for U.S. Army Medal of Honor recipients. This ship is named in honor of Private First Class Ralph E. Pomeroy, who was posthumously awarded the U.S. Army Medal of Honor for his heroic actions in Korea in October 1952.

The sealift new construction ships are large, medium-speed, roll-on, roll-off ships (LMSRs). The ships are assigned to the U.S. Navy’s Military Sealift Command, and are prepositioned to quickly deliver U.S. Army tanks, armored personnel carriers, tractor-trailers, and other equipment and supplies to potential areas of conflict around the world. The ships also can provide surge sealift support of remote military actions. Their multi-use capabilities make these cargo ships among the most flexible ever built.

The USNS Pomeroy is 950 feet in length, has a beam of 105 feet and displaces approximately 62,000 long tons when fully loaded. The ship has over 390,000 square feet of cargo carrying space. The gas turbine-powered ship will be able to sustain speeds up to 24 knots when fully loaded.

NASSCO is currently building the eighth and final ship in the series, which is scheduled to be launched in April 2002. "As we finish the last ship in this very successful, decade-long program, NASSCO is making the transition to the commercial contracts we were awarded last year," Vortmann said. "We began construction on the first of two roll-on, roll-off ships for Totem Ocean Trailer Express in June. We are also in the engineering and procurement phase on the first of three double-hull tankers for BP. These ships are designed for the carriage of crude oil from Valdez, Alaska, to U.S. West Coast ports, and construction on the first ship will begin in early 2002." Vortmann added that NASSCO is one of the finalists to build the Navy’s T-AKE, a new, innovative class of dry cargo ammunition ships that will meet the Navy's logistics needs for the next 40 years.

NASSCO is the only West Coast shipyard capable of building and repairing large ocean-going vessels for the Navy and commercial customers. The shipyard employs approximately 3,000 people in San Diego.

General Dynamics, headquartered in Falls Church, Virginia, employs approximately 49,000 people worldwide and anticipates 2001 sales of approximately $12 billion. The company has leading market positions in shipbuilding and marine systems, land and amphibious combat systems, information systems, and business aviation.

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Any "forward-looking statements" contained in this press release are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.

General Dynamics Corporation (ticker: GD, exchange: NYSE)
News Release - Thursday, August 16, 2001
Press Contact: (619) 544-7708