General Dynamics secures $17.65 billion contract

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GROTON, Conn. (AP) — General Dynamics said Monday it has
secured a $17.65 billion contract to build attack submarines for the
U.S. Navy.
The company said its subsidiary Electric Boat will be
responsible for building 10 additional Virginia-class submarines as part
of the agreement. It plans to build two ships per year for the next
five years with the help of its partner Newport News Shipbuilding, a
unit of Huntington Ingalls Industries.
Construction of the first submarine will begin May 1.
Electric
Boat and Newport News Shipbuilding already have delivered 10 of these
submarines to the Navy, and eight additional submarines are under
construction.
In 2012, President Barack Obama’s proposed budget
called for only nine submarines, not 10, in the next block of
Virginia-class ships.
U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney, a Democrat who
represents eastern Connecticut, said the contract for the full 10
reflects the strength of arguments in favor of the strategic need for
attack submarines, particularly after the loss of the USS Miami in a
2012 shipyard fire in Maine.
Electric Boat president Jeffrey S. Geiger said the award has great significance for the submarine
industrial base.
"By
continuing to produce two ships per year, the Navy and industry team
retains the stability required to achieve increased efficiencies,
providing the fleet with the submarines it needs to sustain the nation’s
undersea dominance," he said.
Shares of General Dynamics Corp., based in Falls Church, Va., closed at $107.39, down $1.62.
Shares of Huntington Ingalls, based in Newport News, Va., closed at $99.08, down $1.48.
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