General Dynamics NASSCO Lays Keel of Sixth T-AKE Ship, USNS Amelia Earhart
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SAN DIEGO, May 30 /-- General Dynamics NASSCO, a wholly-owned subsidiary of General Dynamics (NYSE:GD), today held a keel-laying ceremony for the sixth ship in the U.S. Navy's T-AKE program. The Navy announced yesterday (May 29) that the ship will be named USNS Amelia Earhart, in honor of the first woman to fly solo, non-stop across the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
A keel-laying ceremony is a shipbuilding tradition that signifies an important milestone as full-scale production begins. In recognition of that milestone, event honoree, Darlene Costello, welded her initials into the keel. Costello is the deputy director for Naval Warfare in the office of under secretary of defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics.
The Amelia Earhart is scheduled to be delivered to the Navy's Military Sealift Command (MSC) in the fall of 2008. The ship will be 689-feet long and displace about 41,000 metric tons when fully loaded. Amelia Earhart's primary mission will be to deliver food, ammunition, fuel and other provisions to combat ships at sea.
General Dynamics NASSCO employs more than 4,600 people and is the only major ship construction yard on the West Coast of the United States. NASSCO has delivered the first two ships of the T-AKE class to the Navy; five follow- on ships are now under construction. In addition to the T-AKE program, the San Diego shipyard will begin construction on the first of nine product carriers for U.S. Shipping Partners L.P., this summer. More information about NASSCO can be found at www.nassco.com.
General Dynamics, headquartered in Falls Church, Virginia, employs approximately 82,600 people worldwide and had 2006 revenues of $24.1 billion. The company is a market leader in business aviation; land and expeditionary combat systems, armaments and munitions; shipbuilding and marine systems; and information systems and technologies. More information about the company is available online at www.generaldynamics.com.
Source: General Dynamics NASSCO
CONTACT: Karl D. Johnson, +1-619-544-8860 office, +1-619-756-5039 cell, kjohnson@nassco.com, for General Dynamics NASSCO
Web site: www.nassco.com/
http://www.generaldynamics.com/
