Electric Boat awarded $1.3 billion contract modification
Groton ― Electric Boat has announced it’s been awarded a $1.3 billion modification to a previously awarded U.S. Department of Defense contract to purchase long lead time materials for Virginia-class submarines.
“This contract modification sends a crucial demand signal, enabling our suppliers to invest in the capacity and materials needed to increase production volume,” Kevin Graney, EB’s president, said in a statement. “Consistent funding for the supply base is essential to achieve the high-rate production the Navy requires of the entire submarine enterprise.”
Electric Boat is the prime contractor and lead design yard for Virginia-class submarines, which it builds in a teaming arrangement with Huntington Ingalls Industries’ Newport News Shipbuilding in Virginia.
The contract modification will enable EB to purchase materials to be used in Block VI submarines, the next generation of Virginia-class attack boats.
“Today’s contract award aligns with congressional authorization passed in last year’s National Defense Authorization Act, signed into law by President Biden in December of 2023,” U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney, D-2nd District, ranking member of the House of Representatives’ Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee, said in a statement.
“That law authorized up to 13 submarines in the upcoming Block VI contract,” Courtney said. “Locking in Navy’s commitment to long lead items will provide some measure of procurement stability to supply chain vendors, which keeps the industrial base moving forward. Promoting that stability was the clear intent of Congress.
“The next ‘to do’ item is the full award of the entire Block VI, which hopefully will happen soon,” he said.
Headquartered in Groton, EB designs, builds, repairs and modernizes nuclear submarines for the Navy, employing more than 23,000 people. It announced last week that Graney, president since October 2019, will retire at the end of the year.
Mark Rayha, EB’s senior vice president and chief operating officer, will succeed Graney, effective Dec. 1.
b.hallenbeck@theday.com
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