SCRA announced a contract award totaling $1.7 million for the Shipbuilding Center of Excellence. The Center, known as the Center for Naval Shipbuilding Technology (CNST), is a Navy ManTech Center of Excellence, chartered by the Office of Naval Research (ONR) to develop advanced manufacturing technologies and deploy them in U.S. shipyards. CNST is managed and operated by SCRA affiliate ATI (Advance Technology International).
The initial, two-year contract was awarded in August of 2009 and allowed for three follow-on, one-year extension options. The most recent award represents the first of the three potential option years and will be spent on Center operations and project development and management. Funded projects will drive shipyard improvements and ultimately reduce the cost and time required to build and repair Navy ships. An additional three to four million dollars will be awarded for specific projects.
In addition to the most recent contract extension and related project funding, CNST was awarded another $1.7 million for two projects to help reduce the cost and time to build the Navy's VIRGINIA-Class Submarines. One project, totaling $1.6 million and lasting 17 months, will develop and pilot a streamlined process based on the interactions of the Shipbuilder, Navy and Government Supply Chain activities. The other project will improve two aspects of the paint systems and focus on durability of interior paints for the submarines.
"ATI's most recent award for the Shipbuilding Center of Excellence's continued operations and associated projects, coupled with VIRGINIA-class project funding, are strong indicators of the Navy's sustained commitment to CNST," said SCRA CEO Bill Mahoney. "We have proven that, through applied research and advanced technology applications, we can substantially reduce costs for the Navy and the Department of Defense."
The U.S. Navy sponsors nine Centers of Excellence that develop technologies to assure that our Navy remains the most technologically advanced Navy in the world. Two of the nine (CNST and the Composites Manufacturing Technology Center (CMTC)) are led by SCRA and headquartered in South Carolina.