NEWPORT NEWS SHIPBUILDING AWARDED
TWO CONTRACTS FOR USS NIMITZ OVERHAUL

NEWPORT NEWS, Va., July 23, 1997 – Newport News Shipbuilding (NYSE: NNS) announced that it has won two contracts for planning and preparation in advance of next year’s overhaul and refueling work of the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, USS Nimitz (CVN 68).

The first contract, valued at approximately $25 million, is for the purchase of equipment and replacement parts. The second contract, valued at approximately $176 million, is for advance planning and other material procurement.

All work will be performed at Newport News Shipbuilding.

Nimitz, the lead ship of this class of aircraft carriers, is scheduled to arrive at Newport News Shipbuilding in May, 1998 for work that will last approximately two years. Built by Newport News Shipbuilding, the ship is named for Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, the Navy’s last five-star admiral. The company laid the keel in 1968; launched the ship in 1972, after christening by Catherine Nimitz Lay, daughter of the late Admiral Nimitz; and delivered the ship in 1975.

Nimitz is entering the yard in 1998 for her first and only refueling during a service-life expected to span approximately 50 years. Newport News has since built and delivered an additional six Nimitz-class carriers and is currently building two more, the Harry S. Truman ( CVN 75 ) scheduled for delivery in 1998 and the Ronald Reagan (CVN 76), to be delivered in 2002. It is also performing some preliminary design and conceptual work on the next Nimitz-class carrier, CVN 77, aimed at significantly reducing the total life cycle costs both of this ship and for carriers in the existing fleet.

Newport News Shipbuilding is America's largest ship design and construction company. It has produced approximately 800 ships during its 111 years of operations - including Navy aircraft carriers, submarines, and cruisers. In addition to its work on aircraft carriers, the company has also begun work in preparation for construction of the Navy's New Attack Submarine. It is also building nine Double Eagle product tankers. Its 1996 revenues totaled $1.87 billion, with earnings before interest and taxes of $140 million. The current backlog is approximately $3.1 billion. The workforce numbers nearly 18,000, making it Virginia's largest private employer.