BAE Systems has been awarded $202 million in contracts from the U.S. Navy to provide modernization and maintenance services for the guided missile destroyer USS Laboon (DDG 58) and the amphibious assault ship USS Wasp (LHD 1). Work will begin at the company’s Norfolk shipyard in early 2024, with the Laboon scheduled to enter dry-dock in February and the Wasp to follow in March.
“The award of these two contracts will provide extensive work for our Norfolk shipyard team,” said David M. Thomas, Jr., vice president and general manager of BAE Systems Norfolk Ship Repair. “We look forward to using our proven experience on recent LHD and DDG work to return these ships to the fleet in the finest condition.”
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. USS Laboon is named in honor of Father John Francis Laboon (1921–1988), a captain in the Navy’s Chaplain Corps who was awarded the Silver Star during World War II while serving on the submarine USS Peto.
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. USS Wasp is the tenth U.S. ship to be so named. The shipyard previously worked aboard the Wasp from February 2021 to April 2023.
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 company’s Norfolk shipyard employs about 900 people and has dozens of subcontractor partners to assist in ship repair work.
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.
