By Troy Turner
Two of Alabama’s largest defense contractors each have netted a major new project for the U.S. Navy that, combined, will bring more than $1 billion in military-related contracts to the state.
The Department of Defense awarded Mobile-based shipbuilder Austal USA an $868 million contract modification for the design and construction of three expeditionary medical ships.
Meanwhile, mega-contractor BL Harbert International LLC, headquartered in Birmingham and already a recipient of numerous big-dollar government contracts in recent years, won a $136 million contract for construction of a nuclear regional maintenance facility at Naval Submarine Base, Kings Bay, Georgia.
Although significant for the financial impact, the contracts also signal a continuous growth in Defense Department dependence on the Alabama-based providers, which Austal USA president Michelle Kruger noted after receiving news of the contract for medical ships, which will be capable of serving in shallow waters and under combat conditions.
“This award is further evidence of the Navy’s confidence in Austal USA to produce highly-capable, shallow-draft, aluminum multi-hull vessels,” Kruger said. “We are proud to provide this innovative critical care capability to the men and women who defend our county.”
The Expeditionary Medical Ship (EMS) is a variant of Austal-built Expeditionary Fast Transport vessels, of which Austal already has provided the Navy 13 such ships.
Austal bills the medical version as a cost-effective design “providing a dedicated medical ship optimized to provide patient holding, stabilization, evacuation and transport in support of Distributed Maritime Operations. The EMS design features a shallow draft which enables greater reach and allows for direct access to austere ports.”
The flight deck will accommodate military aircraft, including the V-22 Osprey used by the Marines and capable of vertical and short-runway takeoffs, and the H-53K Sikorsky King Stallion heavy-lift helicopter.
Work will be performed in Mobile, Alabama (87%); Chesapeake, Virginia (2%); Newark, Delaware (2%); Mandeville, Louisiana (2%); Spring, Texas (1%); various locations within the U.S., each accounting for less than 1 percent (5%); and various locations outside the U.S., each accounting for less than 1 percent (1%).
Work is expected to be completed by May 2030. Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting agency.
Submarine base build-out
BL Harbert has a longstanding relationship with the U.S. government, having played a major role in the design and construction around the world of American embassies, a wide range of military facilities, NASA buildings and more. It also has a well-established reputation in the private sector, including the development of health and sports facilities such as hospitals and stadiums.
Its most recent contract for the Naval Submarine Base in Georgia includes “construction of a new precast panel and structural steel frame building, with aggregate pier ground improvements and spread footings with reinforced concrete slab on grade, with incidental site work, pavements, utilities, drainage and demolition work,” according to the Defense Department.
Work will be performed in Camden County, Georgia, and will be completed by August 2028.
Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command Southeast, in Jacksonville, Florida, is the contracting agency.
Troy Turner is editor-in-chief and senior consultant for AlaDefense.com.
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