General Dynamics NASSCO, a unit of General Dynamics, has received a contract valued at $1.7bn to construct two fleet replenishment oilers, T-AO 215 and T-AO 216, for the US Navy.
This award continues NASSCO’s multi-ship arrangement with the US Navy, which permits the construction of up to eight additional John Lewis class vessels, specifically T-AO 214 through T-AO 221.
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These ships are intended to deliver fuel and dry cargo to navy ships at sea and include aviation capability.
General Dynamics NASSCO president Dave Carver said: “The T-AO programme holds significant importance to the men and women of NASSCO and is one we take great pride in – it’s the longest running Navy production series in NASSCO history.
“The timely funding for these two ships will act to stabilise the workforce by sustaining an important backlog and prevent future layoffs. Our entire NASSCO team is honoured to continue to support the critical national security mission of the US Navy.”
The John Lewis class oilers are designed with a length of 742 feet (ft), a full load displacement of 49,850 tonnes (t). They can carry up to 162,000 barrels of oil in addition to large quantities of dry cargo.
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By GlobalDataThese ships can travel at speeds up to 20 knots and are constructed to support sustained operations by refuelling other Navy vessels while at sea.
NASSCO began work on this class after being awarded a contract in 2016 for the design and construction of six John Lewis class oilers, with initial shipbuilding activity starting in September 2018.
In August 2022, the Navy modified this contract to add three more vessels, covering T-AO 211 through T-AO 213.
Last year, NASSCO received an additional eight-ship contract authorising the construction of T-AOs 10 through 17.
The USNS John Lewis (T-AO 205), the initial ship of this class, was delivered in July 2022, followed by the USNS Oscar V. Peterson (T-AO 206) in July 2023.
The third ship, USNS Earl Warren (T-AO 207), was delivered in May 2024, and the fourth USNS Robert F Kennedy (T-AO 208) in December 2024.
In September 2024, NASSCO christened and launched the USNS Lucy Stone (T-AO 209), the fifth ship in the John Lewis-class fleet replenishment oiler programme.
The sixth ship in the fleet, T-AO 210, was christened Sojourner Truth at NASSCO’s shipyard in San Diego, California, in April 2025.
Currently, five further T-AOs are under construction at the NASSCO shipyard.
