The Senate Armed Services Committee has approved a 2019 Defense bill that includes several provisions that benefit Maine defense industries.
The legislation authorizes more than $5 billion in funding for three new destroyers that will be built at Bath Iron Works (BIW), and it authorizes money to complete the third Zumwalt destroyer, which is currently under construction.
Senator Angus King, who serves on the committee, says the measure also authorizes a new class of frigates that could be built at BIW and keep the work force stable.
“They are still in the design phase,” King says. “There are five yards competing. And it is a design build contract, there are twenty ships in the class.”
The legislation also authorizes improvements at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard for handling newer submarines undergoing maintenance and overhaul.
“The Portsmouth Naval Shipyard is very busy,” he says. “They are hiring, they’re adding capacity and these capital improvements are really important to allow the continued expansion of the yard to meet the needs of the Navy.”
The measure still needs full Senate approval and must be reconciled with the House version.
