General Dynamics NASSCO Starts Construction of Fifth T-AKE Ship

General Dynamics NASSCO, a wholly owned subsidiary of General Dynamics (NYSE: GD) , today announced the start of construction on the fifth dry cargo-ammunition ship in the U.S. Navy’s T-AKE program. The ship will be named later and is scheduled to be delivered to the Navy in the first quarter of 2008.

NASSCO has been awarded contracts to build nine T-AKE ships. Two additional ships are expected to be ordered by the Navy over the next two years for a total class of 11 ships. The first ship of the class, USNS Lewis and Clark, was delivered to the Navy on June 20.