The $607 billion defense budget sent to President Barack Obama on Tuesday includes $250 million in funding that could go to the construction of a new destroyer at Bath Iron Works.
The Bangor Daily News reported that the 2016 National Defense Authorization Act would authorize funding for Bath Iron Works destroyers as well as changes to a federal economic incentive program that would benefit businesses at Brunswick Landing.
The BIW funding includes nearly $4 billion for already-awarded Navy destroyer programs. That includes $433 million for construction of three DDG-1000 Zumwalt-class ships currently under construction, and $3.1 billion for two DDG-51 destroyers, one of which will be built at BIW, Sen. Angus King told the BDN.
The Associated Press reported that the $250 million to start work on a destroyer could go to BIW if the Navy agrees that BIW is owed another destroyer under a 2002 “ship swap” agreement between the Navy, BIW and Huntington Ingalls shipyard in Mississippi.
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