NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (WVEC) -- The Navy is moving towards buying two carriers at a time, instead of one.
The Navy has formally requested that the parent company of Newport News Shipbuilding, 'further define' possible cost savings of a double purchase.
The Peninsula-based shipyard is Hampton Roads' largest private employer and, is the world's only maker of the nuclear-powered, 96,000-ton warships. Officials and members of Congress like the idea.
The whole idea behind a "block buy" of aircraft carriers would be to save taxpayers money, and hopefully, a lot of it.
"Guaranteeing these two carriers, the government would be looking for some discount purchasing in that deal, because that's going to mean a lot of jobs at Newport News, a lot of jobs at any of the area supplies that feed Newport News, subcontractors that feed the shipyard," said Tidewater Community College Business Professor Peter Shaw. "This is very good news."
It would mean stability and certainty for Newport News Shipbuilding, in the construction of CVN-80, the new USS Enterprise, and the as-yet-unnamed carrier, CVN-81.
And as the nation builds up to a 355 ship fleet over the coming 25 years, TCC's Shaw is convinced it won't just be Newport News that prospers.
"Remembers as you're getting more ships, you have to maintain them," he said. "The fleet is expanding, so the area shipyards will have an opportunity to pick up more work."
Virginia Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, in a joint statement, said the block buys will "provide much-needed long-term stability to the entire region, save taxpayer dollars, and strengthen our national defense."
The parent company of Newport News Shipbuilding, Huntington Ingalls, is also supportive of the idea.
In a statement, President and CEO Mike Petters said: "This action by the U.S. Navy allows us to work with them to better define and achieve the significant cost savings that will result from this approach."
First District Congressman Rob Wittman, who chairs the Seapower Readiness Subcommittee, also backs the plan. He called the request for information, "a great step towards strengthening the fleet."