General Dynamics to maintain nuclear submarines

General Dynamics Electric Boat Corp. will furnish engineering and technical support for the Navy's nuclear submarine fleet under a $286 million contract.

According to the contract, Electric Boat will be responsible for design, engineering, material and logistics support, and research and development for operational nuclear submarines and submersibles, company officials said.

Electric Boat also will provide assistance with planning, scheduling and various technical aspects of submarine maintenance and modernization. The work also calls for the company to advise the Navy on how it can trim costs associated with nuclear submarine upkeep.

The contract might be worth as much as $1.8 billion over five years, company officials said.

Electric Boat, based in Groton, Conn., is a unit of General Dynamics Corp., of Falls Church, Va. The parent company ranks No. 6 on Washington Technology's 2008 Top 100 list of the largest federal government prime contractors.