PASCAGOULA, Miss., Jan. 2, 2003 (PRIMEZONE) -- Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) announced today that the U.S. Navy will provide funding of more than $401.5 million for DDG 105, the second of four DDG 51-class Aegis-guided missile destroyers awarded to the company's Ship Systems sector.
The original contract for $1.9 billion was received in September 2002. Funding for DDG 105 is part of a multi-year procurement plan under which the Navy is awarding multiple ships under a single contract. DDG 105 is Northrop Grumman Ship Systems' 26th contracted Aegis destroyer.
"This funding for DDG 105 continues to demonstrate the Navy's confidence in the quality and professionalism Northrop Grumman Corporation has consistently delivered through the history of the Aegis destroyer program," said Dr. Philip A. Dur, Northrop Grumman corporate vice president and president of the company's Ship Systems sector. "This program has been at the core of our operations for 25 years and we, as a company, are delighted to see it continue."
Of the 28 destroyers presently under contract to the company, 17 have been delivered. Construction of DDG 105 is scheduled for completion in 2008.
The Navy's Aegis fleet provides primary protection for the Navy's battle forces. Aegis destroyers, designed to match maximum survivability with potent offensive capability, are 509.5 feet long, with a beam of 66.5 feet. Four gas turbine engines power the 9,300-ton ships to speeds in excess of 30 knots. The destroyers' Aegis Combat System is the world's foremost naval weapons system.
Northrop Grumman's Ship Systems sector includes primary operations in Pascagoula and Gulfport, Miss.; New Orleans and Tallulah, La.; and in a network of fleet support offices in the U.S. and Japan. The sector, which currently employs more than 17,000 shipbuilding professionals, primarily in Mississippi and Louisiana, is one of the nation's leading full service systems companies for the design, engineering, construction, and life cycle support of major surface ships for the U.S. Navy, U.S. Coast Guard and international navies, and for commercial vessels of all types.
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