BAE Systems Helps Maintain Military Sealift Command's Transport Capability.

NORFOLK, Va. -- BAE Systems has been awarded a contract by General Dynamics American Overseas Marine for the drydocking and preservation of the USNS Brittin (T-AKR 305), Military Sealift Command's Bob Hope Class Large, Medium-Speed Roll-on/Roll-off (LMSR) Ship. The 50-day work package, valued at $4.6 million, began on June 1 with the ship's arrival at BAE Systems Norfolk Ship Repair.

The scope of work on the 950-foot Brittin, which General Dynamics operates for Military Sealift Command, includes 35 days in drydock and 15 pierside. Critical items in the package include work on the hull, freeboard, exterior deck surfaces, bilge wells, propeller blades and seals, sea valves, pumps and bow thrusters.

LMSRs are among the largest cargo ships in the world and can carry up to 380,000 square feet of combat cargo -- the equivalent of more than six football fields of wheeled and tracked vehicles -- at speeds up to 24 knots. They are equipped with on board ramps and cranes to assist in loading oversize cargo including helicopters, M1A1 tanks and Bradley Combat Systems vehicles. MSC operates eleven surge LMSRs using commercial operating companies to crew and maintain the ships as necessary in order to be ready to sail within 96 hours of notification.

"Maintaining Military Sealift Command's cargo ships, like the Brittin, is important to our nation's security," said Al Krekich, president, BAE Systems Ship Repair. "As our deployed forces are becoming increasingly dependent on the timely delivery of supplies these ships carry, it's a privilege to play a small part in enabling that effort."

Military Sealift Command's large, medium-speed, roll-on/roll-off ship, or LMSR, program significantly expands the nation's sealift capability for the new millennium. All of the LMSRs have been prime movers of U.S. military equipment during Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. The LMSRs offset the shortage of militarily useful transport ships available in the commercial sector.

BAE Systems Ship Repair is the United States' leading non-nuclear ship repair, modernization and conversion company - focused on dry dock and ship repair services for the U.S. Navy, other defense agencies and commercial customers. It has major operations in Norfolk, San Diego, San Francisco and Hawaii.

About BAE Systems

BAE Systems is a global defense and aerospace company, delivering a full range of products and services for air, land, and naval forces, as well as advanced electronics, information technology solutions, and customer support services. BAE Systems, with 88,000 employees worldwide, had 2006 sales that exceeded $25 billion.