General Dynamics nabs $55.9M to make missile tubes for U.S. and Britain

General Dynamics was awarded a $55.9 million contract modification to manufacture missile tubes for the United States and Britain, the Department of Defense announced Friday.

The deal modifies a $5 billion contract awarded in 2017 for work on Columbia-class ballistic missile submarines.

The contract is part of a joint missile compartment program agreement between the United States and Britian and is funded by Britain through the Department of Defense’s Foreign Miltary Sales program.

It funds the manufacture 18 missile tubes for Columbia-class ballistic missile submarines for the U.S. Navy and for the Royal Navy’s Dreadnought battleship.

Huntington Ingalls cut the steel for the Columbia ballistic missile submarine in May 2019, with an aim to deliver the first of the new class of submarine to the Navy in 2027.

The new submarines are intended to replace the Ohio-class submarines, of which there are 14 in service with the Navy.

Work on the deal will be complete by May 2028.