Mabus to visit Austal

MOBILE, Ala. - Navy Secretary Ray Mabus will be at Austal USA's shipyard in Mobile Friday to make an announcement about the littoral combat ship program. The Navy last year awarded Austal and Lockheed Martin 10-vessel contracts to build littoral combat ships, which are designed to fight in coastal waters. (Source: Mobile Press-Register, 03/23/11)

Ship christening set for Saturday

PASCAGOULA, Miss. - An amphibious transport dock ship, Arlington, will be christened Saturday at a ceremony at Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding's Pascagoula yard. LPD 24 is named for Arlington County, Va., where an airliner crashed into the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001. The 684-foot Arlington is one of three Navy ships to honor the heroes and victims of the terrorist attacks. USS New York has been delivered to the Navy and USS Somerset, named for the county in Pennsylvania where another airliner crashed on 9/11, is under construction in Avondale, La. (Source: Mississippi Press, 03/22/11)

Contract: Swiftships, $42.1M

Swiftships Shipbuilders LLC, Morgan City, La., is being awarded a $42,181,000 modification to previously awarded contract for the detail design and construction of three 35-meter patrol boats, with an option for three additional 35-meter patrol boats and associated technical services for the Iraqi navy. This contract modification includes options which would bring the value to $83,479,000. Work will be performed in Morgan City, La. (60 percent); Detroit, Mich. (30 percent); Ocean Springs, Miss. (8 percent); and Charlottesville, Va. (2 percent), and is expected to be completed by August 2012. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 03/21/11)

Navy gives nod to spinoff

The Navy said it's now in a position to support Northrop Grumman's spin-off of its shipbuilding business. The Navy finds Huntington Ingalls Industries Inc. responsible for award of amphibious transport dock ship LPD 26 and guided missile destroyer DDG 113, both contracts currently under negotiation. The Navy's concern with HII's credit rating, driven by its initial debt, has been offset by Northrop Grumman's agreement to relieve HII of first quarter 2011 debts and to provide a starting cash balance of $300 million. (Source: DoD, 03/17/11, Mississippi Press, 03/18/11)

Contract: Austal, $368.6M

Austal USA, Mobile, Ala., is being awarded a $368,592,125 modification to previously awarded contract to contractually authorize fiscal 2011 Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) construction. Fifty-one percent of the work will be done in Mobile and two percent in New Orleans. Other work will be done in Pittsfield, Mass., Cincinnati, Ohio, Baltimore, Md., Burlington, Vt., and various other locations. Work is expected to be complete by October 2015. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 03/17/11)

Contract: Austal, $19.7M

Austal USA, Mobile, Ala., is being awarded a $19,665,646 modification to previously awarded contract to exercise options for special studies, analyses, review and class- service efforts for the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) program. Austal USA will assess engineering and production challenges and evaluate the cost and schedule risks from affordability efforts to reduce LCS acquisition and lifecycle costs. Work will be performed in Mobile, Ala. (83 percent), and Pittsfield, Mass. (17 percent). Work is expected to be completed by March 2012. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 03/15/11)

NG board OKs spinoff

Northrop Grumman's board of directors has approved the spin-off of a wholly owned subsidiary, Huntington Ingalls Industries. Northrop Grumman stockholders will get one share of the shipping business for every six shares of Northrop Grumman stock they hold on March 30. Shares of the shipbuilding business will trade under the symbol "HII." When Northrop said in July it would explore strategic alternatives for the unit, it also announced plans to close its Avondale facility in Louisiana and consolidation of that yard's work in Pascagoula, Miss. (Source: Mississippi Press, 03/15/11)

Contract: Arete Associates, $26.4M

Arete Associates, Tucson, Ariz., is being awarded a $26,400,000 firm-fixed-price letter contract for the engineering, manufacturing, production and delivery of three Coastal Battlefield Reconnaissance and Analysis (COBRA) AN/DVS-1 low rate initial production Block 1 systems as part of the Mine Warfare Mission Package onboard the littoral combat ship. As a result of this Small Business Innovative Research Phase III award, the COBRA system will have the software that satisfies the performance requirements, the mine counter measure, intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance, and tactical littoral sensor modes installed. Work will be performed in Tucson, Ariz., and is expected to be completed by March 2013. The Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City Division, Panama City Beach, Fla., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 03/04/11) Note: Littoral Combat Ships are built in Mobile, Ala.

Contract: Lockheed Martin, $7.5M

Lockheed Martin MS2, Moorestown, N.J., was awarded a $7,500,000 modification to previously awarded contract to exercise an option for engineering services for DDG 51 class and CG 47 class Aegis combat system installation, integration and test, and fleet life cycle engineering support for the program executive officer for Integrated Warfare Systems. Some of the work, 1 percent, will be done in Pascagoula, Miss. Half the work will be done in New Jersey, and the rest in Maryland, Virginia, Washington, D.C., Ohio, Florida, California, and Maine. Work is expected to be completed by September 2011. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 02/25/11)

Latest destroyer delivered to Navy

PASCAGOULA, Miss. - The Navy welcomed its latest destroyer Wednesday afternoon after accepting ownership of the William P. Lawrence during a ceremony at Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding's Pascagoula shipyard. The ship, which is 510 feet long and carries a 276-person crew, will be capable of simultaneously fighting air, surface and subsurface battles. The ship will leave Pascagoula May 19. (Source: Mississippi Press, 02/24/11)

Austal tax break goes up

MOBILE, Ala. - Austal USA decided to spend more on its latest expansion and will get a bigger tax break. The Mobile City Industrial Development Board voted Wednesday to exempt Austal from some $19.7 million in sales and nonschool property taxes over the next 10 years, up from the $8.9 million in tax breaks that were approved a month ago. The additional work drove up the cost of the work from $75 million to $145 million. (Source: Mobile Press-Register, 02/24/11)

Destroyer's mast antenna breaks off

The upper part of the mast on the destroyer USS Gravely broke off Sunday off the northern Florida coast while conducting routine operations, the Navy said. The damage was to the mast mounted antenna. Nobody was injured and the ship safely returned to Mayport, Fla. The Gravely, DDG 107, was build by Northrop Grumman at its Pascagoula shipyard. The ship was commissioned in November. (Source: Navy Times, 02/15/11)

VT Halter gets contract

PASCAGOULA, Miss. – VT Halter Marine has won a $144 million contract to build a second carrier vessel for a Hawaii company, officials said. The company will build a roll-on/roll-off car/truck carrier for Pasha Hawaii by fall of 2013 that will provide weekly service between the West Coast and Hawaii. The company also signed an option agreement for the construction of a third vessel with a base price of $137 million. (Source: Sun Herald, 02/16/11)

Keel laid for new survey ship

MOSS POINT, Miss. - VT Halter Marine laid the keel Tuesday of a multimillion-dollar Navy research vessel named after Matthew Fontaine Maury, the father of modern oceanography. The T-AGS 66 research vessel is 253 feet long and can carry a crew of 67. It will take about 18 months to complete the ship, officials said. VT Halter Marine has about 1,800 employees at its Moss Point, Pascagoula and Escatawpa yards. (Sources: WLOX-TV, 02/01/11, Mississippi Press, 02/02/11)

A close look at a sea trial

A Navy Times staff writer provides a detailed look at the recent, successful super trial of the Northrop Grumman-built destroyer William P. Lawrence. The three-day trail is designed to find problems before the ship is delivered to the Navy, and in this case, most on board sensed the ship had performed extraordinarily well. (Source: Navy Times, 01/30/11)

City, county OK money for Austal

MOBILE, Ala. – Shipbuilder Austal USA will get $2.5 million from the Mobile County Commission and another $2.5 million from the Mobile City Council as incentive to help the company expand at its Mobile River yard. The money will be used to pay for construction of a 30,000 square-foot office building to house Navy personnel. Austal, which is building littoral combat ships for the Navy, plans $150 million in capital improvements. (Source: Mobile Press-Register, 01/26/11 and 01/25/11)

Destroyer completes super trial

PASCAGOULA, Miss. - Northrop Grumman's Aegis guided missile destroyer William P. Lawrence successfully completed its combined super trial last week in the Gulf of Mexico. The successful sea trial of DDG 110 paved the way for delivery to the Navy in the next six weeks. The 509-foot, 9,200-ton ship is powered by four gas-turbine propulsion plants. Among other things, the ship's weapons, communications and propulsion systems were tested during the trial. (Source: Northrop Grumman, 01/25/11)

Fitch sees BB rating for NG spin-off

Northrop Grumman hasn't said whether it will spin off or sell its shipbuilding operations, but Fitch Ratings expects to assign a BB Issuer Default Ratings to Huntington Ingalls Industries Inc., upon completion of the company’s potential spin-off. Fitch said the ratings reflect HII's position as a leading company in the defense shipbuilding industry with core capabilities in building aircraft carriers, nuclear submarines, large amphibious attack vessels, and surface combatants. The company is the sole source manufacturer on about 66 percent of its revenues, and it has a large and highly visible $17 billion backlog. Fitch said HII is well-positioned in the current defense spending environment, with roles on four of the Department of Defense's top 12 programs in the fiscal 2011 budget. Fitch's key concerns include HII's revenue concentration with the Navy and Coast Guard, the ongoing restructuring at the company's Gulf Coast operations and uncertainty about U.S. defense spending after fiscal 2012. (Source: Business Wire, 01/24/11)

Textron gets new MLB contract

NEW ORLEANS - Textron Marine & Land Systems today announced the acceptance of the sixth Motor Lifeboat (MLB) contracted by the Mexican Navy. The first five MLBs have been delivered, with the sixth 47-foot craft scheduled for delivery in the first quarter of 2011. The Mexican Ministry of the Navy contracted with Textron Marine & Land Systems in 2008 to build the MLBs modeled after the craft used by the U.S. Coast Guard. Textron Marine & Land Systems is an operating unit of Textron Systems, a Textron Inc. company. (Source: Business Wire, 01/24/11)

Austal OKd for tax breaks

MOBILE, Ala. - The Mobile Industrial Development Board last week approved tax breaks for shipbuilder Austal USA. The board agreed to exempt Austal from an estimated $8.86 million in sales and non-school property taxes over the next 10 years. The vote abates taxes related to a new assembly bay, land to provide docking space, a building for Navy personnel and bulkhead improvements. (Source: Mobile Press-Register, 01/20/11)