General Dynamics NASSCO Delivers USNS Charles Drew

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Jul 14, 2010, 02:30 ET

SAN DIEGO, July 14 /PRNewswire/ -- General Dynamics NASSCO, a wholly owned subsidiary of General Dynamics (NYSE: GD), today delivered USNS Charles Drew (T-AKE 10) to the U.S. Navy. The ship is named in honor of Dr. Charles R. Drew (1904-1950), the African American surgeon and hematologist who pioneered the procedures for the safe storage and transfusion of blood.

NASSCO began construction of USNS Charles Drew in October 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 Navy and allied ships underway at sea.

Including the Charles Drew, NASSCO has delivered ten T-AKEs, which are also known as Lewis and Clark-class ships. The eleventh through thirteenth ships are under construction at the San Diego shipyard. Construction of the fourteenth and final ship of the Lewis and Clark class will begin in the fall.

General Dynamics NASSCO employs more than 3,700 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 its fifth and final commercial product carrier for American Petroleum Tankers LLC, 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 91,200 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.generaldynamics.com.

SOURCE General Dynamics NASSCO