BAE Systems says maintenance work will start in May on two more U.S. Navy warships under recently awarded MRO contracts together worth almost $100 million.
Flight IIA Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS Stockdale and littoral combat ship (LCS) USS Kansas City are in line for repair and modernisation under the newly-agreed $98 million contracts.
As per a BAE Systems press statement, the $37m deal for work on the LCS will see the 2,550-ton trimaran vessel brought into dry dock in San Diego, where teams will clean and repair its hull, as well as refurbish living quarters and upgrade selected onboard systems.
USS Kansas City is one of 19 Independence-class LCS warships; launched in 2018, she was built by Austal USA and commissioned in 2020. She makes up part of Littoral Combat Ship Squadron One operating out of Naval Base San Diego
The $61m works on USS Stockdale will be carried out at the same time in the same California shipyard. Alongside living quarters and the hull, the ship’s superstructure and fuel and ballast tanks will be overhauled.
Built by Bath Iron Works, the 9,200-ton destroyer was commissioned into active service in 2009. The 155-metre warship was originally deployed as part of the U.S. Navy’s Seventh Fleet in the Pacific.
She has also spent time in the Middle East; in the closing months of 2024 while escorting merchant vessels she repeatedly came under fire from Houthi rebels in the Red Sea, although all the incoming drones and missiles were intercepted.
Most recently the destroyer has been in the Caribbean as part of the build-up of American forces in the region aimed at combating drug cartels.
Vice president and general manager at BAE Systems Maritime Solutions San Diego Eric Icke commented: “Working alongside Navy personnel and our subcontractor teammates, our shipyard team will apply our Navy ship repair expertise to ensure both ships return to the fleet capable to fulfil our nation’s requirements.”
- You can read more details on the BAE Systems website