Naval Reactor Components to be Made in Mount Vernon
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Virginia-based BWXT Nuclear Operations Group Inc., a subsidiary of BWX Technologies Inc. (NYSE: BWXT), has landed a $1 billion contract from the U.S. Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program. The contract calls for naval nuclear reactor components and fuel, and BWXT says some of the work will be performed at its facility in Mount Vernon.
The Mount Vernon facility specializes in the design and manufacture of heavy components for naval nuclear reactors used in submarines and aircraft carriers, according to the company’s website.
BWXT says work on the Columbia and Virginia-class reactor components, which is valued at nearly $840 million, will also be performed at sites in Virginia and Ohio.
“BWXT is gratified to continue to support the U.S. Navy as the sole manufacturer of naval nuclear reactors and fuel for U.S. submarines and aircraft carriers,” said BWXT Nuclear Operations Group Inc. President Joel Duling. “For more than 65 years, we have enabled U.S. sailors to fulfill their missions across the globe, while also supporting our communities here at home with thousands of manufacturing jobs.”
BWXT says manufacture and delivery of fuel, and development work for future Naval Nuclear Propulsion programs, valued at nearly $200 million, will be performed at BWXT subsidiary Nuclear Fuel Services Inc. in Tennessee.
The company says it expects to complete the first set of components for the new Columbia-class ballistic missile submarine next year.
BWXT manufactures naval nuclear components and reactors that power the U.S. Navy’s Ohio, Virginia, Seawolf and Los Angeles-class submarines, as well as the Nimitz and Ford-class aircraft carriers.
In 2018, the company detailed plans for an $80 million expansion of its Mount Vernon operations that would add nearly 70 jobs.