Article Posted on : - Jun 05, 2013

The guided-missile destroyer USS William P Lawrence (DDG 110) built by Ingalls Shipbuilding. A US Navy photo.

PASCAGOULA, Miss. (BNS): Huntington Ingalls Industries' Ingalls Shipbuilding division has been awarded a fixed-price incentive, multiyear contract for construction of five Arleigh Burke-class destroyers (DDG 51s) for the US Navy.

The contract has a total value of $3.33 billion and includes options for engineering change proposals, design budgeting requirements and post-delivery availabilities, which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of the contract to approximately $3.39 billion, the Company said.

Ingalls has delivered 28 DDG 51 destroyers to the Navy and currently has two more under construction. Ingalls started construction on John Finn (DDG 113) in September 2012 and will begin construction on Ralph Johnson (DDG 114) this summer.

The company's 28th destroyer, William P Lawrence (DDG 110), was commissioned on June 4, 2011.

This highly capable, multi-mission ship can conduct a variety of operations, from peacetime presence and crisis management to sea control and power projection, all in support of the United States' military strategy.

DDGs are capable of simultaneously fighting air, surface and subsurface battles. The ship contains myriad offensive and defensive weapons designed to support maritime defence needs well into the 21st century.