Huntington Ingalls Industries’ Ingalls Shipbuilding division has received two fixed-price incentive contracts from the U.S. Coast Guard to build two additional National Security Cutters for the U.S. Coast Guard. The contract values for the a 10th and 11th ships in the program are $468.75 million for NSC 10 and $462.13 million for NSC 11, the Newport News, VA-based company announced December 21.
“This additional funding for two NSCs is a great accomplishment on which to end the year,” said Ingalls Shipbuilding President Brian Cuccias. “The outstanding work being done by skilled men and women of Ingalls, as well as the recognition by Congress and the U.S. Coast Guard as to the important contributions these ships make to our nation’s defense, are the reason for this success. These ships provide capable assets that our Coast Guard customer uses to perform essential homeland security missions, and we look forward to delivering two more quality NSCs to help with this important work.”
Ingalls has delivered seven NSCs, the flagships of the Coast Guard’s cutter fleet, designed to replace the 12 Hamilton-class high-endurance cutters that entered service in the 1960s. The seventh ship, Kimball (WMSL 756), will be commissioned in Hawaii on Jan. 19.
Both the eighth ship, Midgett (WMSL 757), and the ninth, Stone (WMSL 758), are currently under construction at Ingalls. Midgett is scheduled for its first set of sea trials in the first quarter of 2019. Stone is scheduled to launch in 2019. NSCs are 418 feet long with a 54-foot beam and displace 4,500 tons with a full load. They have a top speed of 28 knots, a range of 12,000 miles, an endurance of 60 days and a crew of 120.
The Legend-class NSC is capable of meeting all maritime security mission needs required of the high-endurance cutter. The cutter includes an aft launch and recovery area for two rigid hull inflatable boats and a flight deck to accommodate a range of manned and unmanned rotary wing aircraft. It is the largest and most technologically advanced class of cutter in the U.S. Coast Guard, with robust capabilities for maritime homeland security, law enforcement, marine safety, environmental protection and national defense missions. This class of cutters plays an important role in enhancing the Coast Guard’s operational readiness, capacity and effectiveness at a time when the demand for their services has never been greater.
Source: Huntington Ingalls
By Loren Blinde
December 31, 2018
