The U.S. Navy has awarded General Dynamics Electric Boat a $78 million contract to buy long lead-time material for the Virginia-class submarine SSN-792. Electric Boat is a wholly owned subsidiary of General Dynamics .
The contract provides funding for steam and electrical-plant components, the main propulsion unit and ship-service turbine generator set, as well as miscellaneous hull, mechanical and electrical-systems components to support construction of SSN-792, which will begin in 2014.
Hailed as model defense-acquisition program for its technical excellence and schedule performance, the Virginia-class submarine program provides the Navy with the capabilities required to dominate both the open ocean and the littorals. In partnership with the Navy, Electric Boat is successfully pursuing its goal to reduce ship costs while maintaining capabilities through overall efficiency improvements, decreased ship-construction labors costs and shortened ship-construction cycle times.
[mappress] Naval Today Staff , April 19, 2012; Image: gdeb