BIW lands $14.9M contract to proceed in frigate competition

Photo / Tim Greenway The U.S. Navy awarded General Dynamics Bath Iron Works a $14.9 million contract for the concept design of the Navy's planned guided missile frigate program.

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By Staff

The U.S. Navy awarded General Dynamics Bath Iron Works a $14.9 million contract for the concept design of the Navy’s planned guided missile frigate program.

Inside Defense reported last November the frigate program could be worth up to $19 billion for 20 vessels.

BIW’s proposed design is based on a family of AEGIS Guided Missile Frigates designed by the Spanish shipbuilder Navantia. The contract award enables Bath Iron Works to mature the design to meet the specifications established by the Navy that will be used for the “detail design and construction” request for proposals.

The $14.9 million contract includes options which, if exercised, would bring the total value of the contract to $22.9 million, according to a BIW news release.

“Bath Iron Works looks forward to working with Navantia to further develop a guided missile frigate design that meets the needs of the U.S. Navy,” said General Dynamics BIW President Dirk Lesko.

The Navy’s initial request for proposals in November required that frigate designs be based on an existing hull form that is already in service. The Navy has said the requirement will make the planned production of 20 frigates more affordable and bring the ships to the fleet more quickly. The detail design and construction award is planned to be in 2020.

BIW designed the Navy’s prior frigate, the Oliver Hazard Perry class, and built many of the hulls. Bath Iron Works partnered with Navantia in the 1980s to adapt the Oliver Hazard Perry design for construction by the Spanish shipbuilding industry and for use by the Spanish Navy.

Bath Iron Works currently has under construction Zumwalt-class destroyers Michael Monsoor (DDG 1001) and Lyndon B. Johnson (DDG 1002), and Arleigh Burke-class destroyers Thomas Hudner (DDG 116), Daniel Inouye (DDG 118), Carl M. Levin (DDG 120) and John Basilone (DDG 122).

BIW has 5,700 employees, a payroll in excess of $350 million a year and spends $45 million annually for goods and services from Maine companies, including $30 million to small businesses.

Falls Church, Va.-based General Dynamics, a global aerospace and defense company that with nearly 100,000 employees worldwide, reported $3.1 billion in earnings in 2016 (on revenue of $31.35 billion), the highest earnings in its history, an operating margin of 13.7% and a company-wide backlog of work of $59.8 billion, according to its 2017 proxy statement to its shareholders. It also owns an ordnance-and-tactical systems site in Saco.