Defense contractor Huntington Ingalls Industries announced that their Ingalls Shipbuilding division has received a $602 million contract modification to fund construction of the Arleigh Burke-class (DDG 51) guided missile destroyer DDG 119 for the U.S. Navy. The yet-to-be-named ship is the second of five DDG 51 destroyers the company was awarded in June 2013.
As the press release notes, the modification also includes an additional $79.4 million in advance procurement for future destroyers.
“The timely execution of this contract modification will enable us to maintain a stable work flow on the DDG 51 class program,” said DDG 51 Program Manager George Nungesser. “It also allows us to achieve our learning curve targets and keep our highly skilled workforce focused on building affordable ships.”
The multi-year procurement allows Ingalls to build ships more efficiently by buying bulk material and moving the skilled workforce from ship to ship. With the five-ship contract, Ingalls will be building DDGs over the next decade.
Ingalls has delivered 28 Arleigh Burke-class destroyers to the Navy and currently has two more under construction. Ingalls laid the keel for John Finn (DDG 113) in November 2013 and will lay the keel for Ralph Johnson (DDG 114) in the third quarter of 2014. Start of fabrication for Paul Ignatius (DDG 117), the first ship of the multi-year contract, will also take place in the third quarter of 2014.
