General Dynamics NASSCO Delivers USNS Matthew Perry

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Feb 24, 2010, 03:30 ET

SAN DIEGO, Feb. 24 /PRNewswire/ -- General Dynamics NASSCO, a wholly owned subsidiary of General Dynamics (NYSE: GD), today delivered USNS Matthew Perry (T-AKE 9) to the U.S. Navy. The ship is named in honor of Commodore Matthew C. Perry (1794-1858), the U.S. Navy officer who established American trade with Japan in the mid-19th century.

NASSCO began construction of USNS Matthew Perry in April 2008. The 689-foot-long supply ship will serve under the Navy's Military Sealift Command. The ship is capable of delivering almost 10,000 tons of dry cargo and petroleum products at one time to U.S. Navy and allied ships underway at sea.

Including the Matthew Perry, NASSCO has delivered nine T-AKEs, which are also known as Lewis and Clark-class ships. Later this week, NASSCO will host a christening and launch ceremony for the tenth ship of the class, USNS Charles Drew. In addition, the San Diego shipyard is now building the eleventh and twelfth Lewis and Clark-class ships, and soon expects to receive a Navy contract for the final two ships of the class, T-AKE 13 and 14.

General Dynamics NASSCO employs more than 4,300 people and is the only major ship construction yard on the West Coast of the United States. In addition to T-AKE construction, the San Diego shipyard is also building two commercial product carriers for American Petroleum Tankers, a shipbuilding joint venture led by the Blackstone Financial Group. More information about NASSCO can be found at www.nassco.com.

General Dynamics, headquartered in Falls Church, Va., employs approximately 91,700 people worldwide. The company is a market leader in business aviation; land and expeditionary combat systems, armaments and munitions; shipbuilding and marine systems; and information systems and technologies. More information about General Dynamics is available online at www.gd.com.

SOURCE General Dynamics NASSCO