NEWPORT NEWS SHIPBUILDING ANNOUNCES STOCK OPTION PROGRAM FOR HOURLY EMPLOYEES

NEWPORT NEWS, VA., November 25, 1997 - Newport News Shipbuilding (NYSE: NNS) announced today a special award of 100 stock options to each of its approximately 10,000 active hourly employees. After a two-year vesting period, these employees will have up to eight additional years to exercise these options. The company said that this program, in combination with other stock-based plans for employees, is designed to give all of its employees an opportunity to become owners of Newport News Shipbuilding stock and to benefit financially as the company’s stock price increases.

"This kind of stock option program is unique in our industry," said Newport News Shipbuilding Chairman and Chief Executive Officer William P. Fricks. "It gives our hourly employees a personal stake in the success of the company, and provides a direct link between improvement in the company’s stock price and financial rewards for these employees.

"Our unions agreed with this program, and we believe that this is a win-win-win situation -- for employees, for the company, and for all of Newport News Shipbuilding’s shareholders," Fricks said.

Newport News Shipbuilding is America’s premier shipbuilding company with annual revenues of approximately $1.8 billion and 18,000 employees. The company is the leader in the design and construction of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and submarines for the U.S. Navy and produces a variety of ships for domestic and international customers.