Ingalls receives contract for eighth US Coast Guard NSC

Ingalls Shipbuilding, a Huntington Ingalls division, has received a contract to build an eight National Security Cutter (NSC) for the US Coast Guard, the company announced on 31 March.

The $499.8 million contract will see Ingalls build the NSC Midgett (WMSL 757), due for delivery in 2019. The company has delivered four cutters so far to the coast guard, and three more are under construction: James (WMSL 754), Munro (WMSL 755) and Kimball (WMSL 756). They will be delivered in 2015, 2016 and 2018, respectively.

Jim French, NSC programme manager, Ingalls Shipbuilding, said: 'We are performing extremely well in this programme, proving the point that serial production is the most efficient and effective way to build complex military ships.

'We continue to fold in learning for each ship we build, and the three under construction right now are tracking well because of this knowledge.'

Legend-class NSCs are flagship cutters of the coast guard fleet and replace the Hamilton-class high-endurance cutters, which have been in service since the 1960s. They have a length of 418ft, beam of 54ft and a full-load displacement of 4,500 tonnes. They can travel at speeds up to 28 knots, with a range of 12,000 miles, a 120-strong crew and an endurance of 60 days.