Navy Exercises Option for Third T-AKE Ship, Awarding $290 Million Contract to General Dynamics' NASSCO
SAN DIEGO, Calif. – National Steel and Shipbuilding Company (NASSCO), a wholly owned subsidiary of General Dynamics (NYSE: GD), announced today that the U.S. Navy has exercised an option to build a third ship for the T-AKE program, a new class of combat logistics force ships. NASSCO was awarded a $290 million contract for construction of the ship.
The company was awarded a $709 million contract in October 2001 for the design and construction of the first two ships in the T-AKE program. The original award included options exercisable by the Navy for 10 additional ships over six years, for a potential contract value of approximately $3.7 billion.
“We are pleased the Navy continues its ongoing support for the T-AKE program,” said Richard Vortmann, president of NASSCO. “As was demonstrated on the successful eight-ship strategic sealift program that we’ll complete this September, building multiple ships in a class allows our shipyard to achieve significant efficiencies. Every strategic sealift ship was delivered ahead of schedule and below cost, providing significant savings to the Navy.”
Functional design work on the T-AKE, which has been designated the Lewis and Clark class, has already begun, with delivery of the first ship scheduled for 2005.
The T-AKE is a dry cargo/ammunition ship, designed to operate independently for extended periods at sea while providing underway replenishment services. These ships will provide logistic lift from sources of supply either in port or at sea and will transfer cargo – ammunition, food, fuel, repair parts, and expendable supplies and material – to station ships and other naval warfare forces at sea. The T-AKE will contribute to the Navy’s ability to maintain its forward presence, replacing aging T-AE ammunition ships and T-AFS combat stores ships that are nearing the end of their service lives.
The T-AKEs will be 210 meters (689 feet) in length and 32.2 meters (105.6 feet) in beam, with a design draft of 9.12 meters (29.9 feet). The ships will carry almost 7,000 tons of dry cargo and ammunition and 23,500 barrels of marine diesel fuel. The ships will be operated by the Military Sealift Command and will be built to commercial standards, incorporating the latest in marine propulsion, ship safety, navigation, and environmental control systems. The T-AKEs will be the first modern Navy ships with an integrated electric-drive propulsion system, and have been designed to maximize cargo-handling efficiency and minimize the costs of operation and maintenance over their expected 40-year life.
NASSCO is currently building two trailerships for Totem Ocean Trailer Express, Inc. (TOTE), and four double-hull tankers for BP Shipping Company of Alaska. NASSCO’s design for the T-AKE draws heavily on the designs for these two advanced-technology commercial ships, both of which feature integrated electric-drive propulsion systems.
General Dynamics, headquartered in Falls Church, Virginia, employs approximately 54,000 people worldwide and had 2001 revenues of $12 billion. The company has leading market positions in mission-critical information systems and technologies, land and amphibious combat systems, shipbuilding and marine 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 - Tuesday, July 16, 2002
Press Contact: (858) 552-1456
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