The US Navy awarded General Dynamics NASSCO a modification contract worth $53 million to outfit USS Chung-Hoon (DDG 93) and USS James E. Williams (DDG 95) with a new electronic warfare system.
The contract, which was awarded on Wednesday, was a modification of a prior Depot Modernization Period contract GD NASSCO had received in October of last year. That contract is worth $754 million if all options are exercised.
During this maintenance period, the vessels will be fitted with the AN/SLQ-32(V)7 Electronic Warfare system as part of the Surface Electronic Warfare Improvement Program (SEWIP).
This is the latest version of the AN/SLQ-32 system which first began fielding on the Arleigh-Burke class destroyers in the 1990s. Both the DDG-93 and DDG-95 are currently equipped with the SLQ-32(V)3 variant.
GD NASSCO’s San Diego shipyard recently completed fitting USS Pinckney (DDG 91) with the SLQ-32(V)7, which was the first ship to get the system. As such, the shipyard’s recent experience makes them the best yard for the task.
“Much like our recent success with the modernization on USS Pinckney, our repair team is ready to tackle another opportunity with our Navy partners and get these ships back to the fleet in a timely manner.” said Dave Baker, vice president of Repair for General Dynamics NASSCO, in a press release last year.
According to the information provided by the U.S. Navy, USS James E. Williams’ depot modernization period will be approximately 23 months, beginning in November of 2023 and is set to be completed in October 2025.
USS Chung-Hoon‘s depot modernization period will be approximately 24 months, beginning in October 2023. USS Chung-Hoon, which is currently a Pacific ocean based destroyer, will likely be dry-docked at NASSCO’s San Diego shipyard. While the USS James E. Williams will likely head for NASSCO’s Norfolk shipyard.
The USS Pinckney, USS Chung-Hoon and USS James E. Williams are the first of 20 Flight IIA destroyers that the Navy plans to backfit with SEWIP Block 3 as part of its DDG MOD 2.0 effort. The effort also includes the destroyers receiving the AN/SPY-6(V)4 Air and Missile Defense Radar (AMDR).
The vessels will be equipped with the SEWIP Block 3 system first, after which they will come back to be fitted with the AN/SPY-6(V)4.
