BILL BELL APPOINTED DIRECTOR OF NAVAL MARKETING AT NEWPORT NEWS SHIPBUILDING

NEWPORT NEWS, Va., -- August 12, 1997 – William C. (Bill) Bell has been appointed director of Naval Marketing at Newport News Shipbuilding (NYSE:NNS), America’s largest ship design and construction company. He is responsible for the market analysis, development and overall management of the company’s sales to both the United States Navy and international military customers.

Bell began his Newport News Shipbuilding career more than 23 years ago. In his most recent assignment he served as director for International Naval Sales and is currently president of Newport News Global, the shipyard’s foreign sales corporation. He is a graduate of the Newport News Shipbuilding Apprentice School, holds a bachelor’s degree from Christopher Newport University in Newport News, Va., and received his Juris Doctorate from the Marshall-Wythe School of Law at the College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, Va.

After graduation from law school, Bell worked in private practice law until his return to Newport News Shipbuilding in 1986. He joined the Legal Department and became one of the lead lawyers responsible for assisting the company in reentering the international market.

Bell is on the Board of Directors of Abu Dhabi Ship Building, a shipbuilding and repair company in the United Arab Emirates, and AMIDEAST, a Washington, D.C.- based non-profit organization established to promote American understanding of the Middle East and North Africa. He is also a member of the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers, the Society of International Affairs, National Defense Organization, Navy League, Propeller Club, Surface Navy Association and the Virginia State Bar. Bell is also a prospective member of the Navy Submarine League.

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. The company is currently building the nuclear-powered aircraft carriers Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) and Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) and has 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 18,000, making it Virginia's largest private employer.