Courtney Welcomes Historic U.S. Navy Contract to General Dynamics Electric Boat for the Remainder of Maintenance Work on USS Hartford 

WASHINGTON, DC— Today, Congressman Joe Courtney (CT-02), Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee on Seapower and Projection Forces, welcomed a new U.S. Navy contract awarded to General Dynamics Electric Boat (EB) for the maintenance, repair, and modernization efforts to execute the engineered overhaul of USS Hartford (SSN 768). This contract, which is part of one of the largest maintenance availabilities at Electric Boat in history, represents full funding to carry out the remainder of the availability, and was fully authorized by Rep. Courtney and the Seapower Subcommittee in the FY22 NDAA. Today's contract award uses previously awarded funding as part of the "Smart Start" contract, which Rep. Courtney announced in June 2021, and allows EB to maintain workforce efforts as serial production of the new Columbia-class program continues and the two-per-year build rate of the Virginia program is sustained. The contract award is valued at $697,894,932.

"By now it's no secret the pivotal role that our Navy's undersea fleet will play for America and our allies around the world," said Chairman Courtney, "AUKUS has brought that to the forefront, as have other challenges, and that's going to mean a higher rate of submarine deployments. To meet that demand, we'll have to lean heavily on the skill of our private shipyards to tamp down maintenance backlogs and keep our subs ready to deploy. The men and women of EB have proven repeatedly that they are ready to answer the call of our Navy and national security priorities. When the USS Hartford was first sidelined for maintenance, it was our shipbuilders in Groton who buckled down and set to work under the first-of-its-kind ‘Smart Start' contract award, which allowed them to get in and get an early jump on the project. My colleagues and I on the Seapower Subcommittee authorized the funding for that innovative approach, and our shipbuilders took full advantage. Their success on that initial maintenance led directly to today's nearly $700 million contract award, which was also authorized by our Subcommittee, and that's going to fuel activity at the Groton shipyard and throughout our manufacturing sector for years to come. This is another strong endorsement by the Navy in the talent and enduring importance of our shipbuilders and manufacturers in eastern Connecticut, and in the critical role they'll continue to play."


Background on Chairman Courtney's efforts on USS Hartford (SSN 768)

In August of 2020, the Navy announced that it had awarded a new planning contract to General Dynamics Electric Boat in Groton, CT, for the maintenance availability of the USS Hartford (SSN 768). Click here to read more.

At the outset of 2021, President Biden's FY 2022 budget request for the Department of Defense included a request for full funding for the remainder of the maintenance availability. That funding was subsequently authorized by Rep. Courtney and the House Armed Services Committee in the FY 2022 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). Today's contract award by the Navy to Electric Boat, valued at $697,894,932, was made possible by that authorization.

In June of last year, The Navy awarded a "Smart Start" contract to Electric Boat for initial maintenance work on the USS Hartford (SSN 768), allowing EB to get an early start on the project, reducing risk to the availability while continuing to grow the workforce in Groton.

Chairman Courtney has routinely pressed Navy officials about shortfalls in submarine maintenance and the need to leverage available private sector capacity to reduce schedule risk. In 2018, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report identifying shortfalls and continued delays in attack submarine maintenance.

A 2018 Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report highlighted that the average cost of submarine repair availabilities at private shipyards were 38 percent lower than at public shipyards between 1993 and 2017.

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