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Shot in the arm for N.E. economy in sub deal

Posted by Bryan Bender December 22, 2008 02:42 PM

The US Navy this afternoon is expected to award a whopping $14 billion contract to General Dynamics to build eight new attack submarines, providing a stable workload for at least the next decade at the company's Electric Boat shipyard in Groton, Conn., and a key manufacturing facility on Narragansset Bay in Quonset Point, R.I., according to several knowledgeable sources.

The contract for Virginia class submarines "guarantees work on the New England waterfront at least through 2019," said a company official who asked not to be identified before the official announcement from the Department of Defense, which is expected at 5 pm.

General Dynamics employs about 10,500 people between its shipyard in Groton and hull-fabrication plant in Rhode Island.

The company, headquartered in Falls Church, Virginia, is the prime contractor on the Virginia project and is splitting the construction evenly between its New England facilities and a Northrop Grumman shipyard in Newport News, Virginia.

The multi-year buy would complete the new class of attacks subs -- which include more than 100 design changes such as improved sonar and missile capacity -- bringing the total to 18. Five have already been completed, five more are currently under construction, with the remaining eight to be ordered today.

The most recent addition to class, the USS New Hampshire, was built in Quonset Point and Groton and delivered to the Navy in October.

The contract would provide enough funding to cover two submarines in 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013, with the entire fleet slated to be completed by the end of the decade.

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... Because submarines are crucial to our current defense priorities, especially in Iraq and Afghanistan. Does any non-NATO country even have submarines anymore?

Posted by Pat December 22, 08 03:54 PM
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Teddy delivers again.

Posted by Bill December 22, 08 04:12 PM
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And they're ZERO-CARBON vehicles!!!!

Posted by jeff December 22, 08 04:31 PM
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This should be a big boost in the fight against terror from such landlocked countries as Afghanistan.
They really need pirate-hunting subs for use off Somailia.

Posted by Bruce December 22, 08 04:58 PM
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$14 billion could pay for the Big Dig OR give Boston the kind of public transit it deserves. Those 10,500 talented employees ought to be employed in manufacturing high speed trains and battery operated cars and trucks of the future that can be exported around the world to build a truly strong national economy. Sorry, but the Virginia class subs are NOT going to protect us from box-cutters and IEDs. These are simply make work projects masquerading as "national defense" that only an Egyptian Pharoh could conceive.

Posted by Joe in Costa Mesa CA December 22, 08 05:48 PM
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A collosal waste of taxpayer money on sub functionality that was needed during the cold war but is overkill now given our global naval superiority. This money would be much better spent increasing our ground forces and supporting an army capable of addressing the non-sovereign risks facing us in the 21st Century

Posted by Nomptnet December 22, 08 08:09 PM
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Gee,

Couldn't we get them cheaper in China? I'm told they'll make a hullava (pardon the pun) deal as they already have a lot of our top secret electronics.

Posted by John December 22, 08 08:17 PM
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build em in quincy

Posted by Max Loew December 22, 08 08:39 PM
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I'm glad we're maintaining our naval superiority - it's only a matter of time before Al-Qaeda launches a couple dozen nuclear attack submarines of their own.

Posted by Rob December 22, 08 08:42 PM
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