BIW has served as lead shipyard for 10 surface ship classes produced by the U.S. Navy, more than any other U.S. shipyard. In 1995, BIW was purchased by General Dynamics, further enhancing the company's technological expertise and capabilities through key investments and access to the complementary capabilities of other General Dynamics companies.
Bath Iron Works today is the lead designer and builder of the ARLEIGH BURKE Class AEGIS guided missile destroyer, the most technologically advanced surface combatant in the world. BIW also provides a full array of life cycle services aimed at helping our Navy customer increase fleet operational readiness and reduce total ownership cost.
The threat of closings here in Maine did not just happen overnight. California and other targeted States offer job opportunities; but of course the Democratic controlled government in Maine is anti-business and tax anything and everything. Maine does not have a revenue problem, Maine has a spending problem. The unemployment rate in Maine is 5.1%.
Senator Collins lobbies for BIW (Dec 2004)
U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, who lobbied for the Bath yard during a December visit to Israel, said she is hopeful that Bath Iron Works will eventually land the contract to build the high-tech, heavily armed vessels.
"Bath would be well situated with its expertise to be the contractor for these ships," Collins, R-Maine, said from Washington.
Such programs are important because of uncertainty surrounding the transition from DDG-51 to the next generation DD-X destroyer.
The last of the Arleigh Burke generation destroyers currently built in Bath is due to be delivered in 2010, and the first contracts for the DD-X won't be awarded until next year at the earliest.
From Bath's standpoint, there will less overlap during this transition than in the early 1990s when Bath was shifting from cruisers to destroyers, said Dirk Lesko, spokesman for the shipyard.
Back then, the Bath yard was adding workers, but this time the yard simply wants to maintain its work force, he said. The shipyard currently has 6,700 workers, down from a peak of 12,000 in 1990.
Israeli officials have publicly discussed building between one and four of the corvettes. Collins predicted the contract would probably be for two ships, which are still currently in the design phase.
Since the destroyers are to be built with U.S. aid to Israel, the ships must be built in the United States, Collins said.
Bath Iron Works got a lift from Collins' visit to Israel in which she discussed the project with Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz and the commander of the Israeli navy, Vice Admiral Yedidia Yaari. She also mentioned it in a meeting with Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
"The admiral told me he visited Bath and that he was very impressed with the capacity of the yard, so I thought that was a good sign," she said.
As it stands, Bath Iron Works' sole customer is the U.S. Navy, but that's not because of a lack of effort, Lesko said.
Bath Iron Works and its parent, General Dynamics, have been pursuing international defense work as it becomes available, he said.
If the Israeli contract comes to fruition, it would be the first shipbuilding success for Bath since the creation of a consortium in 1999 consisting of Bath Iron Works, Lockheed Martin and Izar, which builds ships for the Spanish navy.
Although the Israeli navy hasn't issued design specifications, the consortium already has created a proposal for a corvette that would have advanced features but would be only 334 feet long, weigh 2,600 tons and have a crew of 80 sailors and officers. It also could accommodate a helicopter.
Destroyers currently produced in Bath are 510 feet long, weigh nearly 10,000 tons and carry a crew of 380. They can handle two helicopters.
Paul Nisbet, an analyst for JSA Research Inc., said it makes sense for Navy shipbuilders to pursue international defense work because it's not profitable to pursue other commercial work.
And small seems to be the way navies are going. In addition to the DD-X, the U.S. Navy is looking to build a new class of small warships designed to operate closer to shore in shallow water.
The smaller vessels that are being contemplated, known as Littoral Combat Ships, cost $200 million to $300 million apiece, compared to the $1 billion for the latest destroyer, Nisbet said.
------In with the new..out with the old scenario?