The US government has awarded a $55.53m contract to General Dynamics Electric Boat (GDEB) – a prime industrial player in US submarine construction – to support the engineering of USS Hartford (SSN 768) in the last leg of its overhaul at Groton Shipyard.

Hartford is a block III variant of the Los Angeles-class (LA-class) nuclear-powered attack submarine. She was first commissioned in 1994. The boat is armed with both the land-attack and anti-ship version of the Raytheon Tomahawk missile; the land-attack variant has a range of 2,500 kilometres.

In June 2021, Hartford entered Groton Shipyard to begin its engineering overhaul, for which the contractor was awarded $698m in February 2022. The company has stuck to its estimation that the boat will, indeed, return to the fleet on time in October 2026.

When SSN 768 entered the shipyard, GDEB president Kevin Graney explained that the purpose of the overhaul was to enhance its capabilities and extend the boat’s service life, “returning a valuable asset to the US Navy submarine fleet.”

Due to their age, the LA-class are being phased out for the Virginia-class. The US Navy have deployed the Virginia since fiscal year 1998: a total of 40 boats have been procured, with 22 already in commission.

It will replace the remaining 25 LA-class SSNs in service as the class moves toward decommissioning; the first of the ageing class entered service in 1976.

SSN 768 has sustained impact over the last 30 years. In late-October 2003, she ran aground in Sardinia with such force that rudders, sonar and other electronic equipment were severely damaged, reported the Independent at the time. In 2009, the boat also collided with an amphibious transport dock USS New Orleans (LPD-18) in the Strait of Hormuz.