FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NEWPORT NEWS, Va., March 24, 1999 –Newport News Shipbuilding (NYSE: NNS), announced today that, under a contract with the Naval Sea Systems Command, it hosted an industry conference in preparation for the acquisition of a warfare system for the final Nimitz-class aircraft carrier, CVN 77. The conference was held March 23, 1999.

The warfare system for CVN 77 will be procured by Newport News Shipbuilding, the U.S. Navy’s prime contractor for aircraft carrier acquisition. Companies that attended the industry conference supply hardware and services in the areas of command and surveillance systems, armament systems, aircraft interface systems and information systems.

"As the Navy’s prime contractor for CVN 77, our role is to acquire and integrate a warfare system that supports the Navy’s objective for a more cost-efficient and flexible platform with lower maintenance costs," said Irwin F. Edenzon, NNS director of Future Carriers. "This approach to acquiring the carrier’s warfare system is a significant departure from the way the Navy has done this in the past, buying discrete components of this system through a variety of separate Navy organizations," added Edenzon.

By May 1999, Newport News Shipbuilding will have defined two industry teams that will compete for the warfare system for CVN 77.

The CVN 77 will serve as the transition ship to a new class of carriers. The planning contract for CVN 77 was awarded in September 1998 and reduces the cost impact of the production gap between CVN 76 and CVN 77. This contract includes three options that, if exercised, would bring the total value of this contract to approximately $245 million. To date, the approximate total value of the contract is $162 million. Full construction funding is expected in Fiscal Year 2001.

It is planned that CVN 77 will include new sensor and communication systems technology in an integrated combat system, reducing the total ownership cost of the ship and improving operational capabilities.

Newport News Shipbuilding designs and constructs nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and submarines for the U.S. Navy and provides life-cycle services for ships in the Navy fleet. The company employs 18,000 people and has annual revenues of approximately $1.8 billion.