BAE Systems has received $202 million in U.S. Navy contracts to provide modernization and maintenance services aboard the guided missile destroyer USS Laboon (DDG 58) and the amphibious assault ship USS Wasp (LHD 1). BAE Systems shipyard personnel and their subcontractor teammates will begin working aboard both ships next February and March, respectively. The company’s Norfolk shipyard is currently concluding repair availabilities aboard Wasp-class ship USS Kearsarge (LHD 3) and the destroyer USS Nitze (DDG 94). The shipyard began working aboard the dock landing ship USS Carter Hall (LSD 50) earlier this year. The shipyard previously worked aboard the Wasp from February 2021 to April 2023.
USS Laboon (DDG-58) is an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer in the United States Navy. She is named for Father John Francis Laboon (1921–1988), a captain in the Chaplain Corps of the United States Navy, who was awarded the Silver Star during World War II while serving on the submarine USS Peto. USS Wasp (LHD-1) is a United States Navy multipurpose amphibious assault ship, and the lead ship of her class. She is the tenth USN vessel to bear the name since 1775, with the last two ships named Wasp being aircraft carriers. She was built by the Ingalls Shipbuilding division of Litton in Pascagoula, Mississippi. She can also accommodate the full range of Navy and Marine Corps helicopters, the tiltrotor MV-22 Osprey, the F-35B Lightning II multi-role fighter, conventional landing craft, and amphibious vehicles.
Under the $114 million docking selected restricted availability (DSRA) contract for USS Laboon, BAE Systems will dry-dock the ship to perform underwater hull maintenance, while repairing the ship’s main propulsion system; preserving internal ballast and fuel tanks, and the external superstructure; and rehabilitating crew berthing and dining compartments. The DSRA contract includes options that, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value to $117 million. Under the selected restricted availability (SRA) contract awarded for USS Wasp, BAE Systems will perform mechanical work in the engineering spaces, inspect and repair interior hull structures, and refurbish the habitability spaces for the ship’s crew and embarked Marine troops. The SRA contract includes options that, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value to $104 million.
The company’s Norfolk shipyard employs about 900 people and has dozens of subcontractor partners to assist in ship repair work. Located in a U.S. Navy mega-port and principal commercial area, NSR’s primary customer is the U.S. Navy. The NSR shipyard is perfectly positioned to serve the requirements and needs of the Navy. BAE Systems is a leading provider of ship repair, maintenance, modernization, conversion, and overhaul services for the Navy, other government agencies, and select commercial customers. The company operates three full-service shipyards in California, Florida, and Virginia, and offers a highly skilled, experienced workforce, seven dry docks and railways, and significant pier space and ship support services.
