General Dynamics Awarded $223 Million Contract for First Trimaran Littoral Combat Ship Construction
FALLS CHURCH, VA – The U.S. Navy today awarded a Bath Iron Works-led team a $223 million contract for the detailed design and construction of an innovative, trimaran-hull Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) as part of its newest ship class. The team will complete the design and construct a high-speed, networked, 127-meter surface combatant ship for delivery to the Navy in October 2007. This award is an option of a contract awarded in July 2003. Bath Iron Works is a subsidiary of General Dynamics (NYSE: GD).
The General Dynamics Littoral Combat Ship features an innovative, high-speed trimaran hull that is based on a proven Austal (Henderson, Australia) design that is currently operating at sea. It will have one of the largest usable payload volumes of any U.S. Navy surface combatant afloat today – providing the flexibility to carry out one mission while a separate mission module is in reserve. The General Dynamics LCS’s large flight deck sits higher above the water than any U.S. Navy surface combatant and will support near-simultaneous operation of two SH-60 helicopters or multiple unmanned vehicles. The ultra-stable trimaran hull allows for flight operations in high sea conditions. In addition, the deck is suitable for landing much larger H-53 helicopters, should that become a future requirement.
The General Dynamics Littoral Combat Ship’s open architecture electronics suite significantly contributes to the ship’s ability to facilitate a wide range of missions, while incorporating stealth technology to increase crew and ship survivability. General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems and its team have developed the LCS core mission systems infrastructure – a flexible information technology backbone that allows “plug and play” integration of both the core systems and the LCS mission modules. The approach builds upon General Dynamics’ highly-flexible total ship computing environment that meets Navy open architecture requirements and is exclusively built upon published industry standards and non-proprietary interfaces. It allows for future growth and seamlessly integrates both domestic and foreign combat components to create a core mission systems solution that dramatically lowers acquisition and lifecycle costs.
The Littoral Combat Ship is a key element of the Navy’s plan to address asymmetric threats of the twenty-first century. Intended to operate in coastal areas of the globe, the ship will be fast, highly maneuverable and geared to supporting mine detection/elimination, anti-submarine warfare and anti-surface warfare, particularly against small surface craft.
General Dynamics Bath Iron Works is the prime contractor for the General Dynamics Littoral Combat Ship Team. Partners include Austal USA (Mobile, AL); BAE Systems (Rockville, MD); Maritime Applied Physics Corporation (Baltimore, MD); L3 Communications Marine Systems (Leesburg, VA); Northrop Grumman Electronic Systems (Baltimore, MD); and General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems (Washington, D.C).
Bath Iron Works of Bath, Maine, is a leading designer and builder of complex surface combatants for the U.S. Navy and employs approximately 5,600 people. General Dynamics, headquartered in Falls Church, Virginia, employs approximately 70,800 people worldwide and had 2004 revenue of $19.2 billion. The company is a market leader in mission-critical information systems and technologies; land and expeditionary combat systems, armaments and munitions; 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 - Friday, October 14, 2005
Press Contact: (703) 876-3199
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