DDG 51 class construction for FY18-FY22: ~$6.9B — two yards building the same class in parallel (Huntington Ingalls, Navy)
The U.S. Navy awarded Huntington Ingalls Incorporated construction of DDG 51 class (Arleigh Burke class) destroyers for fiscal years 2018 through 2022, valued at about $6.9 billion. This site also covers the FY23-FY27 award for the same class at a different yard, which shows two yards building the class in parallel.
Contract key facts
- RecipientHuntington Ingalls
- Contract value$6,954,390,178 (≈$6.95B)
- BranchNavy
- Awarding agencyDepartment of Defense
- Awarding sub-agencyDepartment of the Navy
- Award typeDEFINITIVE CONTRACT
- Period of performance2018-09-27 〜 2032-07-09
- Contract ID (PIID)N0002418C2307
The amount cited in the write-up ($6,944,031,571) is the figure at the time of writing. After later modifications the record now shows $6,954,390,178 (the details above are current).
Contract scope (original)
FY18-FY22 DDG 51 CLASS SHIP CONSTRUCTION
Key points
- The Navy ordered FY18-FY22 construction of DDG 51 class destroyers from Huntington Ingalls.
- Value ~$6.95B ($6,944,031,571; multi-year cumulative); September 2018 to July 2032, about fourteen years.
- Bundling several fiscal years lets a yard plan material and staffing on a long horizon and hold down unit cost.
- This site also covers the FY23-FY27 award for the same class at a different recipient — two yards in parallel.
- Ship names and hull counts are not stated in the scope.
- The FY23-27 DDG 51 work is two contracts under one description: about $8.32 billion to Huntington Ingalls and $6.59 billion to Bath Iron Works.
1Construction bundled by fiscal year
The scope names a range of fiscal years, FY18 through FY22. Ships are not always ordered one at a time; several years of construction can be committed in one contract. Bundling lets the yard plan material and staffing against a long horizon, which tends to hold down unit cost. It is the same reasoning behind the multiyear helicopter contract this site covers, applied to ships.
2Two yards building one class
This site also holds the FY23-FY27 construction contracts for the same DDG 51 class. There are two of them, under the same description and the same period, recorded at about $8.32 billion to Huntington Ingalls and about $6.59 billion to Bath Iron Works.
The Navy's mainstay destroyer is built at more than one yard in parallel, which keeps a problem or delay at one yard from halting the whole line and sustains the industrial base at each.
3A fourteen-year period of performance
The period runs from September 2018 to July 2032, nearly fourteen years, because construction and delivery continue well past the fiscal years the contract covers. The value of about $6.95 billion is the cumulative total of modifications across that span. Ship names and hull counts are not stated in the scope.
4One class shared between two yards
The Navy's mainstay destroyer is built at more than one yard in parallel. In the records this site holds, contracts are cut by grouping of fiscal years, and the same grouping is shared between yards.
| Contract | Recipient | Obligated |
|---|---|---|
| FY18-22 (this award) | Huntington Ingalls | about $6.95 billion |
| FY23-27 | Huntington Ingalls | about $8.32 billion |
| FY23-27 | Bath Iron Works | about $6.59 billion |
Building in parallel keeps a problem or delay at one yard from halting the whole line and sustains the industrial base at each. The two FY23-27 contracts share a description and a period of performance; in the record only the recipient and the amount differ. Comparing awards by shipyard means allowing for one fiscal grouping being split in two.
Why it matters
Where contract years and performance years diverge sharply, annual spending totals do not reveal actual activity. In an industry with a supplier base as broad as shipbuilding, order visibility drives capital investment and hiring among subcontractors, which makes the timing of multi-year awards an indicator in its own right.
FAQ
What data is this?
Is the amount final?
Why bundle several fiscal years into one contract?
Why is the same class built at two yards?
Sources (primary)
This article is an independent organization based on the U.S. official spending data below. Verify the exact, latest details with the official source.
- USAspending (award details)
- Contract ID (PIID)：N0002418C2307