NEWPORT NEWS, Va., May 16, 2001 – Newport News Shipbuilding (NYSE:NNS) announced today that it has been awarded a contract valued at approximately $9.3 million for preparations in advance of the overhaul and refueling of the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) scheduled for 2004. The contract involves 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. The ship is scheduled to arrive at Newport News in late 2004 and remain for approximately three years.

Named for former Congressman Carl Vinson, the carrier Vinson was built at Newport News Shipbuilding and christened in 1980. The former congressman attended the christening ceremony at age 96 and became the first living American to have a Navy ship named in his honor. The ship was commissioned by the U. S. Navy in 1982.

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 17,000 people and has annual revenues of approximately $2 billion. Visit NNS on the Web at www.nns.com.