A $5.1 billion contract has been awarded to General Dynamics Electric Boat for development work for the Columbia Class and Dreadnought class submarines.

The contract (the notice of which displayed below) is for the design, completion, component and technology development and prototyping efforts for the Columbia class ballistic missile submarines and also includes UK specific work for the Dreadnought class ballistic missile submarines related to the common missile compartment.

“General Dynamics Electric Boat Corp., Groton, Connecticut, is being awarded a $5,071,534,074 cost-plus-incentive-fee with special incentives contract for the Integrated Product and Process Development design completion for the Columbia-class ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs).

The contract also includes component and technology development, missile tube module and reactor compartment bulkhead prototyping and manufacturing efforts, and United Kingdom Strategic Weapon Support System kit manufacturing for the Columbia class ballistic missile submarines. This contract includes foreign military sales to the United Kingdom (14 percent). Work will be performed in Groton, Connecticut (77.4 percent); Newport News, Virginia (12.7 percent); and Quonset, Rhode Island (9.9 percent), and is expected to be completed by December 2031.

Fiscal 2017 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy); fiscal 2017 research, design, test and evaluation (Navy); and United Kingdom funding in the amount of $175,101,310 will be obligated at the time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured in accordance with 10 U.S. Code 2304(c)(1) – only General Dynamics Electric Boat currently possesses the entirety of the nuclear ballistic missile submarine design/engineering workforce and data environment to support completion of the highly specialized submarine design products and integration efforts required to meet all of the contemplated technical and schedule contract requirements.

The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, District of Columbia, is the contracting activity (N00024-17-C-2117).”

“The Columbia class submarine is the most important acquisition program the Navy has today,” said Secretary of the Navy Richard V. Spencer. “This contract represents a significant investment in maintaining our strategic deterrent into the future, as well as our ongoing partnership with the United Kingdom.”