General Dynamics awarded $22.2B submarine contract

Revised throughout at 5:05 p.m. to add contract details.

PROVIDENCE – General Dynamics Corp. has been awarded a multiyear $22.2 billion contract in partnership with Huntington Ingalls Industries Inc. from the U.S. Navy, Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., announced on Monday.
The contract is for nine Block V Virginia-class submarines with the option for a 10th. The additional submarine would raise the value of the contract to $24 billion. All Block IV Virginia-class submarines are currently under various stages of construction.
Construction on Block V is scheduled to begin this year with delivery scheduled for 2025 through 2029.
General Dynamic Electric Boat, which works on submarines, employees roughly 4,100 workers in Rhode Island at Quonset Business Park. It was not immediately clear how much work will take place in the state.
“This contract is a major win for Rhode Island that will bring a host of economic benefits to the state,” said Reed in a statement. “It means submarine production at Quonset stays on course and continues full speed ahead for the next decade and will lead to further jobs and investment in the state. The awarding of this contract is a testament to the skill and dedication of the men and women at Electric Boat who do an outstanding job of building these submarines. I will continue working hard to ensure the Navy maintains a steady, two-per-year production rate.”
The contract is one of the largest shipbuilding contracts in the service’s history.

The Virginia-class submarines are designed to attack both land and sea targets with Tomahawk cruise missiles and other weapons.

Bloomberg News reporter Tony Capaccio contributed to this report.