FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The contract modification is for continued advance planning, design, documentation, engineering, material procurement, ship checks, fabrication and preliminary shipyard or support facility work. This will be the ship’s first and only refueling during a service life expected to span approximately 50 years.

Eisenhower, built at Newport News, was christened on October 11, 1975 by its sponsor, Mrs. Mamie Doud Eisenhower, widow of the late president. It was commissioned by the U. S. Navy in 1977. Eisenhower was most recently at NNS when it arrived in 1995 for an 18-month complex overhaul. The ship is scheduled to return to its birthplace in the spring of 2001 and remain for approximately three years.

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 nearly 17,300 people and has annual revenues of approximately $1.8 billion. Visit NNS on the Web at www.nns.com.