The U.S. Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program has awarded Lynchburg, Va.,-based BWX Technologies contracts worth about $2.2 billion for making naval reactor parts and fuel, the company said in a Tuesday morning press release.
BWXT Nuclear Operations Group sites in Virginia, Ohio and Indiana will manufacture nuclear reactor components for Columbia and Virginia-class submarines over an eight-year span starting this year. This work is valued at more than $1.8 billion, a figure that includes future options.
The rest of the work, including manufacture and delivery of fuel and support activities for the U.S. Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program, will be done by BWXT’s Nuclear Fuel Services unit in Erwin, Tenn.
The contract options are subject to annual Congressional appropriations and constitute the remainder of the total value, BWXT said in the release.
“Today’s announcement marks a continuation of a more-than 65-year-old trusted relationship with the U.S. government to provide the reactors that power our nation’s nuclear navy,” Joel Duling, BWXT Nuclear Operations Group’s president, said in the release.
“Columbia is critical to our nation’s strategic defense requirements,” BWXT Government Operations President Rob Smith said in the release. “BWXT is pleased to support the U.S. Navy’s top priority in achieving on-time deployment of these new ballistic missile submarines while continuing production of Virginia-class components for the Navy’s mission.”
This latest announcement comes 18 months after BWXT inked a $806-million contract to provide long-lead components for U.S. Navy nuclear-powered submarines and aircraft carriers.
BWX Technologies is also a major contractor for both the Department of Energy’s semi-autonomous National Nuclear Security Administration as well as the Office of Environmental Management.
