Coast Guard awards contract for fourth National Security Cutter

Northrop Grumman Corporation’s (NYSE:NOC) reports that the U.S. Coast Guard has awarded its shipbuilding sector a $480 million fixed-price incentive contract for construction of a fourth National Security Cutter (WMSL 753). Construction and delivery will be performed at the company’s Pascagoula shipyard.

The National Security Cutters that comprise the Coast Guard’s Legend class are the flagships of the Coast Guard fleet, designed to replace the 378?foot Hamilton class High Endurance Cutters, which entered service during the 1960s.

Two of the eight ships planned in the program USCGC Bertholf (WMSL 750) and USCGC Waesche (WMSL 751) have been commissioned and are executing Coast Guard missions. The third ship in the class, Stratton (WMSL 752), christened on July 23, 2010, is over 65 percent complete and scheduled for delivery next year.

NSC 4 will be 418-feet long, with a 54-foot beam, displacing 4,400 tons with a full load. It will have a top speed of 28 knots, a range of 12,000 nautical miles, an endurance of 60 days and a crew of approximately 110.

The Legend-class NSC includes an aft launch and recovery area for two rigid hull inflatable boats, and a flight deck to accommodate a range of manned and unmanned rotary wing aircraft.

November 30, 2010