Defence

BAE Systems awarded $125.5m US Navy contract for USS Essex maintenance

Posted 6 April 2022

BAE Systems has received a $125.5 million contract from the US Navy to drydock and provide post-deployment maintenance service aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Essex (LHD 2).

Above: Amphibious assault ship USS Essex (LHD 2) transits the San Diego Bay in preparation for arrival pierside at Naval Base San Diego.
Courtesy BAE Systems / US Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Melvin Fatimehin

The ship recently completed a seven-month deployment to the Western Pacific.

BAE Systems’ San Diego shipyard will begin working aboard the 844-foot-long USS Essex in June. Under the docking selected restricted availability (DSRA) contract awarded, BAE Systems will perform hull, tank, and mechanical work, repair internal and exterior decks and refurbish habitability spaces for the ship’s crew and embarked US Marine Corps troops.

Work on the ship is expected to be completed in September 2023. The contract includes options that, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value to $148.2 million.

“USS Essex recently returned to San Diego following an extended overseas deployment,” said David M. Thomas, Jr., vice president and general manager of BAE Systems San Diego Ship Repair. “I look forward to the BAE Systems-Navy team delivering upon our commitment to restore Essex’s material condition and prepare it for future deployments.”

USS Essex is the fifth US ship named after Essex County, Mass. The ship was commissioned in October 1992 and is homeported in San Diego.

BAE Systems’ San Diego shipyard is currently completing a 22-month DSRA aboard USS Boxer (LHD 4), which is in the same ship class as Essex.

BAE Systems is a leading provider of ship repair, maintenance, modernization, conversion, and overhaul services for the Navy, other government agencies and select commercial customers. The company operates three full-service shipyards in California, Florida, and Virginia, and offers a highly skilled, experienced workforce, seven drydocks and railways, significant pier space and ship support services. The company’s San Diego shipyard has approximately 1,100 employees and works with the Navy and several subcontractor companies to accomplish its ship sustainment work.