BATH, Maine — The U.S. Navy has provided $644 million in new funding to Bath Iron Works for the construction of another Arleigh Burke-class destroyer under a previously awarded contract for five ships to be built in Bath between 2013 and 2017.
U.S. Sens. Susan Collins and Angus King said in a joint statement Wednesday that the funding allocation is part of a successful plan to even out the ebbs and flows of contracts and, by extension, the workload for BIW. The implementation of multi-year contracting in 2012 also is a savings for taxpayers because it reduces the per-ship cost to the Navy.
“These contracts are among the most effective tools in helping to keep costs low and our Navy strong,” said Collins and King in a joint statement. “We are pleased to announce that the projected savings from this procurement strategy is an impressive $2.2 billion.”
The money for the additional destroyer was secured in 2015 in the 2016 omnibus appropriations bill that was signed into law in December 2015. The balance of the cost of the ship, $433 million, has been identified as the No. 2 priority on the Navy’s 2017 unfunded priorities list, according to King and Collins.
Collins is a member of the Senate Defense Appropriations Committee, and King is a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee.
