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General Dynamics NASSCO Awarded Maintenance and Repair Contract for Amphibious Assault Ships

SAN DIEGO – General Dynamics NASSCO, a wholly-owned subsidiary of General Dynamics (NYSE: GD), has been awarded a seven-year contract for the maintenance and emergent repair of San Diego-based LHA and LHD class amphibious assault ships. The contract includes options to be exercised by the U.S. Navy through fiscal year 2013. The value of the contract, if all options are exercised, could total approximately $400 million.

“For nearly a decade, NASSCO has been the Navy’s prime contractor for the maintenance and repair of all the large-deck amphibious ships in the San Diego Navy port,” said Frederick J. Harris, president of General Dynamics NASSCO. “We are pleased to again lead the regional repair team that will provide the long-term support and upkeep for these vital expeditionary warfare ships.”

Under the contract, NASSCO will perform 12 scheduled maintenance availabilities aboard USS Tarawa (LHA 1), USS Peleliu (LHA 5), USS Essex (LHD 2), USS Boxer (LHD 4), USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD 6) and the Makin Island (LHD 8), once the latter is commissioned and homeported in San Diego next year. NASSCO has the largest floating drydock in San Diego, permitting the full range of service to these ships. NASSCO was first awarded a seven-year contract for maintenance of LHA and LHD class ships in December 1997, and received a two-year extension in October 2002. The initial award under the contract is $63,000 for the pre-planning work leading to the scheduled maintenance availability of USS Boxer in June 2007.

General Dynamics NASSCO employs more than 4,600 people and is the only major ship construction and repair yard on the West Coast of the United States. In addition to its ship repair business, NASSCO has five T-AKE class ships under construction for delivery to the Navy and will soon begin construction on a series of nine product carriers for U.S. Shipping Partners L.P. Additional information on NASSCO can be found at www.nassco.com.

General Dynamics, headquartered in Falls Church, Va., employs approximately 81,000 people worldwide and had 2006 revenues of $24.1 billion. The company is a market leader in mission-critical information systems and technologies; land and expeditionary combat systems, armaments and munitions; shipbuilding and marine systems; and business aviation. More information about the company is available online at www.generaldynamics.com.

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