The Navy on Monday awarded General Dynamics Electric Boat an $869 million modification for continued Columbia-class ballistic missile submarine (SSBN) procurement work, with an added price option for the first two submarines that would increase the total contract value to $9.5 billion.
Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development, and Acquisition James Geurts told reporters during a press call the modification “provides for the continued procurement and design completion engineering work and design from affordability for the Columbia-class.”
Geurts reaffirmed Columbia as the Navy’s top procurement program, replacing today’s fleet of Ohio-class boats. The first of 12 submarines is scheduled to be delivered in 2028 and go on first patrol in 2031. “The contract also provides lead ship component development lead yard support, follow-on yard support, additional U.K. strategic weapons system kit manufacturing, and additional work with the submarine supply base,” he said.
This includes submarine industrial base development and expansion efforts as part of the integrated enterprise plan and multi program material procurement supporting Columbia SSBNs and the overall nuclear shipbuilding enterprise, according to the announcement, along with additional U.K. Strategic Weapon System Support kit manufacturing and efforts to support expansion of the domestic missile tube industrial base.
Geurts explained the second part of the announcement is that the Navy is placing a price option on the contract for the first two Columbia submarines, SSBN-826 and 827, which is estimated to cost about $9.5 billion.
Geurts noted the option “is subject to appropriation and authorization, but that is the result of a lot of hard work between the shipbuilder teams and our teams to negotiate the first two ship costs, get those all the terms and conditions on track well-ahead of our anticipated award, which will be as soon as we have an appropriation and authorization in FY ’21.”
