General Dynamics Electric Boat (GDEB), a business unit of General Dynamics, has been awarded a contract modification to support submarine industrial base development and expansion for the construction of the US Navy’s Columbia-class fleet ballistic missile submarines.
The contract, which has a total value of $313.9 million, is a modification to the previously awarded Columbia Integrated Product and Process Contract by the Naval Sea Systems Command.
Under the new modification, the company will provide support for submarine industrial base development, as well as additional support for the manufacturing, procurement and delivery efforts for UK Strategic Weapon Support System kits.
“Ballistic-missile submarines are the critical, survivable leg of our nation’s nuclear arsenal and Columbia is the Navy’s top acquisition priority,” said Kevin Graney , president of General Dynamics Electric Boat.
In March this year, General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems (GA-EMS) revealed that the Columbia-class submarine project moved forward with the delivery of the first of two bearing support structures (BSS).
At 560-feet long (170.6 meters) with a displacement of nearly 21,000 tons, the submarines of the Columbia class will be the largest ever built by the US.
The Columbia sub will have a life-of the-ship fuel core that will power the submarine for its entire service life, eliminating the need for a mid-service refueling and increasing the time the ship can spend on deployment. The expected date for the delivery of the lead ship to the US Navy is 2027.