The $42.8 million contract will fund updates and maintenance work to Arleigh Burke-class destroyers in the naval fleet, such as the USS Thomas Hudner, shown above. Photo courtesy of Bath Iron Works

BATH — The Navy awarded Bath Iron Works a nearly $43 million addition to a previous contract to continue performing maintenance and upgrades to Arleigh Burke-class destroyers.

The Arleigh Burkes are the primary type of ship produced by BIW, a subsidiary of global aerospace and defense company General Dynamics. The most recent Arleigh Burke, the future USS Daniel Inouye, was christened in June of 2019 making it the 37th ship of its class to be built by the shipyard.

The contract, originally awarded in June of 2018, has a potential award value of $304.8 million, according to the Department of Defense.

“This contract enables our efforts to complete a Flight III design upgrade in support of the U.S. Navy’s strategy for acquiring ships with additional capability in FY’18 and FY ’21,” said Dirk Lesko, president of BIW, in 2018 when the contract was initially awarded.

BIW provides planning yard services for all Arleigh Burke-class and Zumwalt-class destroyers including engineering, design, material kitting, logistics, planning and execution.

“From maritime security patrols in the North Atlantic to freedom of navigation missions in the Pacific, Arleigh Burke-class are the workhorses of the Navy,” Sens. Susan Collins and Angus King wrote in a joint statement. “This contract reflects the Navy’s ongoing confidence in Bath Iron Works to support and deliver high-quality ships that are essential to our national security.”

Last December, the company received a $146 million contract for the same purpose – continuing maintenance and upgrades on Arleigh Burkes.

Collins and King, a senior member of the Senate Defense Appropriations Subcommittee and a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, respectively, wrote they will continue their efforts “to ensure that the highly skilled men and women at BIW have the resources they need to continue building these destroyers and support our military.”