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General Dynamics Corp News

10 Mar 2023

US, Australia to Unveil Submarine Pact to Counter China

File photo: The U.S. Navy's Virginia-class fast-attack submarine USS New Hampshire (SSN 778) at Naval Station Norfolk, in 2021. (Photo: Alfred A. Coffield / U.S. Navy)

U.S. President Joe Biden will meet leaders of Australia and Britain in San Diego on Monday to announce a way forward for Australia to receive nuclear-powered submarines in Canberra's biggest-ever defense project.The three countries announced the so-called AUKUS plan in 2021 as part of efforts to counter China in the Indo-Pacific region.However, questions remain over strict U.S. curbs on the extensive technology sharing needed for the project and about the length of time it will take to deliver the submarines.Australia is expected to buy up to five U.S.

15 Dec 2022

Future USS Carl Levin Completes Acceptance Trials

The future USS Carl M. Levin (DDG 120) (Photo: Bath Iron Works)

The future USS Carl M. Levin (DDG 120) completed acceptance trials on December 9, returning to General Dynamics Corp’s Bath Iron Works (BIW) Bath shipyard after spending two days at sea.During acceptance trials, the ship and its crew performed a series of demonstrations for review by the U.S. Navy’s Board of Inspection and Survey (INSURV). These demonstrations are used by INSURV to validate the quality of construction and compliance with Navy specifications and requirements prior to delivery of the ship to the U.S. Navy.

26 Jul 2022

US Navy Boost Aspirations for Unmanned Fleet

A Seahawk medium displacement unmanned surface vessel (Photo: Shannon Renfroe / U.S. Navy)

The U.S. Navy sees its future fleet comprised of more than 350 manned ships and about 150 unmanned ships hoping technology means lower operating costs as it prepares to counter a growing Chinese fleet, according to a Navy report released Tuesday.The plan for the 2040s and beyond underscored "the need to address long-term competition with China and sustain military advantage against Russia". It forecasts fleet numbers up slightly from a 2021 Navy long-range shipbuilding plan which…

05 Nov 2020

General Dynamics Awarded $9.47 Bln Submarine Construction Contract

An artist rendering of the future U.S. Navy Columbia-class ballistic missile submarines. The 12 submarines of the Columbia-class will replace the Ohio-class submarines which are reaching their maximum extended service life. It is planned that the construction of USS Columbia (SSBN-826) will begin in in fiscal year 2021, with delivery in fiscal year 2028, and being on patrol in 2031. (Illustration: U.S. Navy)

General Dynamics Corp was awarded a $9.47 billion contract for the construction of Columbia class submarines, moving the U.S. Navy's top procurement priority out of the early-construction phase, the Pentagon said on Thursday.The contract for the nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines covers the move to full construction of the first ship in the class, the USS Columbia, as well as continued advanced construction of the second ship, the USS Wisconsin, the Navy said.General…

13 Apr 2018

US Could Reach 355 Ship Navy in 2030s -Official

The future littoral combat ship USS Indianapolis (LCS 17) is moved from an indoor production facility in Marinette, Wisc., to launchways in preparation for its April 14 launch into the Menomenee River. (U.S. Navy photo courtesy of Marinette Marine by Val Ihde)

The U.S. Navy could build its strength to 355 ships over a decade earlier than previously thought due to an increased shipbuilding budget and tempo as well as extending the service for some ships in the current fleet, a Pentagon official told a Congressional panel on Thursday. The goal of a larger Navy, one of President Donald Trump's signature issues from the campaign trail, could be achieved in the 2030s instead of the 2050s, the Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development & Acquisition, James Geurts told the U.S.

17 Mar 2017

Skilled Workers Needed to Build Trump's Navy Vision

U.S. President Donald Trump says he wants to build dozens of new warships in one of the biggest peace-time expansions of the U.S. Navy. But interviews with ship-builders, unions and a review of public and internal documents show major obstacles to that plan. The initiative could cost nearly $700 billion in government funding, take 30 years to complete and require hiring tens of thousands of skilled shipyard workers - many of whom don't exist yet because they still need to be hired and trained, according to the interviews and the documents reviewed. Trump has vowed a huge build-up of the U.S. military to project American power in the face of an emboldened China and Russia. That includes expanding the Navy to 350 warships from 275 today.

13 Apr 2016

Damaged US Warship Heads to San Diego for Repairs

USS Fort Worth (U.S. Navy photo by Joe Bishop)

The USS Fort Worth, a U.S. warship that suffered damage to its combining gears in Singapore in January, will travel to San Diego under its own power for extensive repairs at a General Dynamics Corp shipyard, the U.S. Navy said Wednesday. The new coastal warship, built by Lockheed Martin Corp , will use its gas turbine engines to travel to its homeport of San Diego this summer from Singapore, where it has been deployed since December 2014, the Navy's Pacific Fleet said in a statement. The trip is expected to take about six weeks.

30 Mar 2016

Huntington Ingalls CEO Urges Speedup of Next Amphib Ship Program

Mike Petters (Photo: HII)

Huntington Ingalls Industries Inc Chief Executive Mike Petters urged the U.S. Navy to accelerate its new LX(R) dock landing ship program to fiscal 2018 from 2020 to avoid significant costs associated with restarting a production line. The production-line gap would occur when building of the LPD-28 warship ends about two years before the LX(R) is due to start. Petters told Reuters the move would save money by averting a costly break in production of the ships, which the Navy has decided to base on the LPD-17 amphibious dock warships also built by Huntington Ingalls.

03 Feb 2016

Pentagon Chief Unveils Plans to Buy More High-end Ships

U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter (Photo: U.S. Department of Defense)

U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter on Wednesday mapped out plans for the U.S. Navy to buy more high-end submarines, destroyers, fighter jets and unmanned underwater vehicles using $8 billion in savings generated by scaling back orders for smaller Littoral Combat Ships. Carter said the Pentagon's five-year budget plan also included $2.9 billion to modify Raytheon Co's SM-6 missiles for use as powerful anti-ship weapons, and buy 625 more of the weapons, which are now used for missile defense.

26 Jan 2016

Electric Boats Look Bullish

General Dynamics Electric Boat expects to hire nearly 4,000 people in the coming years as it ramps up production on Navy submarines, the Associated Press reports. Electric Boat is projecting a positive outlook for 2016 for revenue and employment, saying 1,800 more workers will be hired at its facilities in Connecticut and Rhode Island this year. Electric Boat, a subsidiary of General Dynamics Corp., employs 14,100 people, mainly in Connecticut. By 2030, EB is projecting that number will grow to 18,000. Electric Boat president Jeffrey S. Geiger told a gathering of legislators Monday at the Crowne Plaza in Warwick the North Kingstown shipbuilder’s future looks upbeat. Right now, the company has a backlog of 16 Virginia-class attack submarines under contract — worth $21 billion.

21 Jan 2016

US Coast Guard Moves Forward on New Icebreakers

USCG photo by Rob Rothway

The U.S. Coast Guard released a proposed acquisition timeline and requirements for two new heavy U.S. icebreakers that could cost $1 billion each and said it would meet with interested companies during an industry day in March. Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Paul Zukunft told an event hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies that notice was intended to get information from companies about their ability to build and develop icebreakers that would be in use for 40 years and to explore options such as leasing.

01 Sep 2015

Obama Pushes for US Icebreakers

President Barack Obama on Tuesday proposed a faster timetable for buying a new heavy icebreaker for the U.S. Arctic, where quickly melting sea ice has spurred more maritime traffic and the United States has fallen far behind Russian resources. The move, part of a push to convince Americans to support Obama's plans to curb climate change, has long been urged by Arctic advocates as climate change opens up the region to more shipping, mining and oil drilling. The announcement came as Obama heads to the coastal town of Seward, named after Secretary of State William Seward, who negotiated the purchase of Alaska in 1867 from Russia. In the first step of Obama's new timetable, the government would buy a heavy icebreaker by 2020 instead of the previous goal of 2022.

29 Jul 2015

General Dynamics Tops Q2 Estimates

General Dynamics' NASSCO Shipyard (Photo: NASSCO/Ken Wright)

General Dynamics Corp, a maker of ships, tanks and business jets, reported higher-than-expected quarterly earnings and revenues on Wednesday, and sharply raised its outlook for full-year profit. Net profit increased 16.4 percent to $752 million for the second quarter from $646 million a year earlier. Earnings per share jumped over 20 percent to $2.27 a share from $1.88 a year earlier, while revenues rose 5.5 percent to $7.88 billion from $7.47 billion. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S estimated second-quarter earnings of $678.65 million…

30 Apr 2015

US Navy Warns Congress that Piecemeal Cruiser Upgrades Costly

U.S. Navy Secretary Ray Mabus on Thursday warned that congressional plans for a piecemeal modernization of 11 cruisers would cost billions of dollars more than the Navy's original plan and meant the warships would have to be retired earlier. "They will still be under the command of the CNO (Chief of Naval Operations). They will never go out of commission," he told reporters after a speech at the National Press Club. Mabus said the Navy remained in dialogue with Congress about the issue, and would gladly accept congressional language aimed at ensuring modernization was actually completed. For instance, he said Congress could impose financial penalties if the Navy reneged on the plan, or require it to sign contracts with U.S. shipyards for upgrade work.

10 Mar 2015

US Navy: One Year Delay in Zumwalt Class Destroyers

General Dynamics Corp will deliver two Zumwalt-class destroyers a year later than planned, U.S. Navy officials said, blaming complications related to new technology. The Navy is adjusting its official baseline for the $22 billion DDG 1000 ship program to reflect the new delivery dates but the change will not trigger a mandatory review since the resulting cost increase will be under 15 percent, a defense official told Reuters, requesting anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the press. Navy spokeswoman Commander Thurraya Kent said the delays were mainly due to challenges with the integration, installation and testing of unique technology on the new class of warships.

15 Jan 2015

US Navy Sees Competition for Next Amphibious Ship

LPD-17 (Photo courtesy: Huntington Ingalls)

The U.S. Navy will insist on competition for the next U.S. amphibious warship despite a decision last year to base the ship on the LPD-17 ship designed by Huntington Ingalls Industries Inc, Marine Corps Major General Robert Walsh said on Tuesday. Walsh, who is director of the U.S. Navy's Expeditionary Warfare Division, said the U.S. military owned the design for the LPD-17 class of ships and would launch a competition for the new warship program known as LX (R). "Competition drives down cost," Walsh said after a speech at the annual symposium of the Surface Navy Association.

12 Mar 2014

US Navy Braces for Budget Cut Battles

USS Gerald Ford: Image credit NNS

Reuters –  Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Jonathan Greenert told reporters late on Monday that the Navy would have no choice but to curtail funding for a planned refueling of the nuclear-powered USS George Washington aircraft carrier if sharp cuts in military spending remained in effect for 2016 and beyond. Such a decision, he said, would have a big impact on the shipbuilding industrial base, noting that the refueling involved several hundred thousand man-days of work, and could affect the ability of carrier building Huntington Ingalls Industries Inc to build the next aircraft carrier.

11 Mar 2014

U.S. Navy awards contracts to Lockheed, Austal for 4 more ships

File Photo: LCS hulls 4 & 6 alongside the pier at Austal Shipyard..

The U.S. Navy has awarded contracts worth nearly $1.4 billion to buy four more Littoral Combat Ships from Lockheed Martin Corp and Australia's Austal Ltd, the U.S. Defense Department said on Monday. Lockheed won a contract valued at $699 million to build two more of its steel monohull-design ships, while Austal won a contract worth $684 million to build two more of its aluminum trimaran design, the Pentagon said in its daily digest of major weapons contracts. Lockheed welcomed the contract…

07 Jul 2010

West Coast Maritime Action

While maritime activity showing renewed signs of life along the entire Pacific Coast, from Prince Rupert to San Diego, shipbuilding is becoming ever-more dependant on the US Navy and Jones Act ships, while ship-repair yards are focused on a broad spectrum of boats and ships. In California, some of that work has focused on re-powering harbor craft to meet the state’s stringent environmental regulations. Along the Columbia River, shipyards remain centered on meeting the on-going demand for ocean-going barges…

06 Dec 2010

General Dynamics Sees Good Year Ahead

According to a Dec. 2 report from Reuters, General Dynamics Corp (GD.N) expects flat defense spending in coming years, or possibly small declines, but does not foresee the kind of “precipitous" declines seen in early downturns. (Source: Reuters)

05 Aug 2013

General Dynamics Awarded 'Zumwalt-class' Superstructure Contract

Zumwalt-class under construction: Photo courtesy of USN

US Defense Department, Navy, has awarded General Dynamics Corp. -- Bath Iron Works Corp., Bath, Maine, a $212,000,000 fixed-price incentive (firm target) contract for the design and construction of a steel superstructure (deckhouse and hangar) plus construction of an aft peripheral vertical launching system for the Zumwalt-class destroyer (DDG 1002). Work will be performed in Bath, Maine (80.5 percent), Corona, Calif. (4.1 percent), Coatesville, Pa. (2.6 percent), South Portland…

28 Feb 2012

General Dynamics to Build Third Mobile Landing Platform Ship

Third Mobile Landing Platform Ship for USN ordered from General Dynamics. According to Reuters, General Dynamics Corp has won a $360 million contract to build a third 765-foot-long Mobile Landing Platform ship - a kind of "pier at sea" - for the U.S. Navy. NASSCO informs that once delivered to the fleet, MLP ships will join Maritime Prepositioning Force squadrons that are strategically located around the world to enable rapid response in a crisis. MLP vessels will change the way the Maritime Prepositioning Force operates, providing a “pier at sea,” that will become the core of the Navy/Marine Corps sea basing concept. This capability will allow prepositioning ships to offload equipment and supplies to the MLP for transshipment to shore by other vessels.

18 Aug 2008

Rising Steel, Oil Prices Raise LCS Costs

Lockheed Martin Corp. says a double-digit jump in the cost of steel and rising oil prices have influenced the rise in the final price tag of its latest warship for the Navy to more than double the initial estimates. Navy officials last month told lawmakers the service's initial estimate of $220m per ship had ballooned to as much as $550 million, which they blamed on design changes that occurred during construction. While the cost of the first two Littoral combat ships--one each being built by Lockheed Martin and General Dynamics Corp.-- is not allowed to breach a congressional cost cap of $460 million per vessel, the ceiling does not apply to run-ups in inflation.