Contracts · Shipbuilding
Pentagon says Bath Iron Works can build a second destroyer if Congress funds it
The Navy's fiscal 2027 request included funding for one destroyer, Sen. Susan Collins said in May, when the Navy said it was trying to let the industrial base catch up.
The Department of War said Monday, Oct. 12, that General Dynamics' Bath Iron Works has the capacity and stability to support construction of a second guided-missile destroyer.1–2 Building an additional Arleigh Burke-class (DDG 51) destroyer at the Maine yard is feasible, the department concluded, "should Congress secure the necessary funding."1
Four of Bath Iron Works' 11 contracted destroyers had no metal cut in May
Bath Iron Works' destroyer workload and the Navy's fiscal 2027 request, as stated at a Senate Appropriations hearing on May 21, 2026
On Oct. 12 the Department of War said Bath Iron Works can support a second destroyer "should Congress secure the necessary funding." It named no contract, fiscal year or dollar amount.
Source: Senate Appropriations Committee, May 21, 2026; Department of War, Oct. 12, 2026.
In May, the Navy's account of Bath centered on its backlog.3 At a hearing on May 21, Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins pressed Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao on a fiscal 2027 request that included funding for only one DDG-51.3–4 Cao answered that Bath had 11 destroyers on contract and seven in construction.3 "We haven't even begun to cut metal for the other four yet," he said. "We're trying to allow the industrial base to catch up."3
The department now cites "verifiable performance enhancements" from what it called a multi-phase due diligence review of the yard's production throughput, schedule adherence, quality assurance, supply chain resilience and workforce. Its release gave no figures from that review and named no statute, contract or dollar amount behind the certification.1 Collins, who said she worked with the administration during its review and "repeated visits to BIW," said the decision clears the way for the department to order an additional destroyer there in fiscal 2027.2
Bath is one of two DDG-51 builders, alongside HII's Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, Miss.5 In May, Collins called for at least two a year to sustain both yards and their suppliers. Without steady throughput, she said, "what you create is a gap at the steel cutting stage."3
The department made its finding conditional on Congress securing the funding, and Collins tied the order to fiscal 2027.1–2 The final defense appropriations bill for that year will show whether the second ship gets funded. Deputy Secretary of War Steve Feinberg paired the certification with a warning that the yard "must continue this momentum to fully resolve legacy production challenges."1
Sources (5)
- Department of War: Department of War Certifies Production Capacity for Second Guided-Missile Destroyer at Maine's Bath Iron Works (Oct. 12, 2026) www.war.gov
- Sen. Susan Collins: Senator Collins, Pentagon Announce Second Guided-Missile Destroyer to Be Built at BIW (Oct. 12, 2026) www.collins.senate.gov
- Senate Appropriations Committee: Sen. Collins: FY27 Navy Budget Should Include Multiple Destroyers (May 21, 2026) www.appropriations.senate.gov
- Senate Appropriations Committee: Hearings www.appropriations.senate.gov
- Congressional Research Service: Navy DDG-51 and DDG-1000 Destroyer Programs: Background and Issues for Congress www.congress.gov