Newport News Shipbuilding lands $2.2B sub contract modification

Newport News-based Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII)’s Newport News Shipbuilding division received a $2.2 billion contract modification from Reston-based General Dynamics Electric Boat for construction of the first two Columbia-class ballistic missile submarines, the company announced on Monday.

The U.S. Navy in early November awarded Electric Boat a $9.474 billion contract modification to build and test the first two Columbia-class intercontinental ballistic missile submarines — the largest ever built by the United States — and provide related design and engineering services.

Under the contract modification, Newport News Shipbuilding will deliver completed modules to Electric Boat for final assembly. Delivery is expected to start in November 2022, with the last one scheduled to take place by January 2028.

“We are pleased to be a crucial design and manufacturing contributor to the Columbia-class program,” Charles Southall, Newport News Shipbuilding’s vice president of Columbia-class submarine construction, said in a statement. “This contract continues NNS’ longstanding and strong commitment to the Navy’s undersea enterprise through the design and construction of major modules and assemblies necessary to achieve program objectives.”

Newport News shipbuilding has been working on the Columbia-class program since May 2019 when it began advance construction activities under Electric Boat. The Columbia class will replace the Ohio-class ballistic missile submarine class. 

The 560-foot-long, 21,000-ton submarines are expected to be delivered to the Navy in 2027.

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