OREANDA-NEWS. The U.S. Navy has awarded General Dynamics Bath Iron Works USD 212 million for the design and construction of a steel deckhouse and hangar and construction of aft Peripheral Vertical Launching System (PVLS) modules for integration into Lyndon B Johnson (DDG 1002), the third ship of the U.S. Navy’s Zumwalt-class of guided missile destroyers. General Dynamics Bath Iron Works is a business unit of General Dynamics (NYSE: GD).

“The design and production of these critical components of DDG 1002 will help maintain our specialized engineering and design skills and provides additional stability to our manufacturing workload,” said Jeff Geiger, president of Bath Iron Works. “We are pleased to have been selected for this important work.”

The Zumwalt-class deckhouse includes the ship's bridge, radars, antennas and intake/exhaust systems in a structure with a significantly smaller radar cross-section than other ships in the modern Navy fleet. The enclosed hangar is designed to accommodate two medium-lift helicopters or other mission-related equipment. The PVLS modules distribute the ship’s missile launchers in separate four-cell launcher compartments along the ship's hull.

There are currently three DDG 1000 class destroyers in production at Bath Iron Works, Zumwalt (DDG 1000), Michael Monsoor (DDG 1001) and Lyndon B. Johnson (DDG 1002). Zumwalt is scheduled to be delivered to the Navy in 2015. The keel laying ceremony for DDG 1001 took place in May 2013 and Start of Fabrication for DDG 1002 was in April 2012.