Northrop Awarded Contract to Build 5th USCG Cutter

The U.S. Coast Guard has awarded Northrop Grumman an $89 million fixed price contract for long-lead material acquisition for the production of a fifth cutter. The contract also includes options that could increase the value to $94 million.

In a statement Northrop said, “The funds will be used to purchase long lead time materials and major equipment in support of the new ship, such as main propulsion and navigation systems, generators, electrical switchboards, major castings and the ship's integrated control system.”

The 418-foot Legend-Class cutters are the flagships of the coast guard and are designed to replace the 378-foot Hamilton Class High Endurance Cutters, commissioned in the 1960s. The eight planned National Security Cutters “will have a top speed of 28 knots, a range of 12,000 miles, an endurance of 60 days and a crew of 110, said Northrop in a statement released Tuesday.

Two of the eight planned National Security Cutters have been commissioned and the third cutter, which is being built at the Pascagoula yard, is about 75 percent complete and is scheduled for delivery by the end of the year. The fourth and fifth cutters will also be built at the Pascagoula yard.

In November, the Coast Guard awarded a $480 million contract for a fourth cutter, work will begin on that vessel in the middle of this year.

The contract award comes just days after Northrop confirmed the layoff of 76 employees at the Pascagoula shipyard.
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PHOTO: USCGC Bertholf (WMSL-750), the first National Security Cutter