BWX Technologies awarded $300M contract for naval nuclear reactor fuel

BWX Technologies announced the award of a U.S. Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program contract totaling approximately $300M for the manufacture of naval nuclear reactor fuel. Under this contract, BWXT subsidiary Nuclear Fuel Services, Inc., located in Erwin, Tennessee, will manufacture and deliver fuel for the Naval Reactors Program. BWXT fuel and reactors power the U.S. Navy’s Ohio, Virginia, Seawolf and Los Angeles class submarines, as well as the Nimitz and Ford class aircraft carriers. BWXT fuel and reactors will also power the Navy’s Columbia-class submarines. When production of fuel is complete, it is shipped to BWXT’s facility near Lynchburg, Virginia for final installation into the naval reactors that BWXT manufactures. The reactors for submarines being developed and built today are designed to last for the life of the ship, and reactors for aircraft carriers are designed to be refueled only once during the life of the ship.