The U.S. Navy awards contract for fourth Independence-Class Littoral Combat Ship (LCS 8)

摘要

This is the second ship awarded under Austal's recently announced U.S. Navy contract for construction of up to an additional 10 Littoral Combat Ships to be appropriated in the following five years, with a total value in excess of USD$3.5 billion. Once commissioned, these 10 ships will join the Austal-built USS Independence (LCS 2), which was commissioned in January 2010. This 10-ship contract will require Austal to more than double its U.S. workforce to approximately 3,800 employees in order to fulfill the contracts currently awarded. Construction of LCS 8 will commence in January 2012 at Austal's shipyard in Mobile, Alabama. For the LCS and JHSV programs, Austal is teamed with General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems, a business unit of General Dynamics.