Overview
- BAE Systems announced Wednesday that it received a firm‑fixed‑price Selected Restricted Availability contract for USS Boxer valued at $149.8 million with options that could raise the total to about $180 million.
- Work under the SRA will be carried out at Naval Base San Diego, where BAE operates major ship repair facilities, and the period is meant to cover modernization, maintenance, and repairs before the ship returns to operations.
- A Selected Restricted Availability is a scheduled maintenance window that lets crews and contractors address propulsion, electrical, aviation and combat systems on large amphibious ships so the vessel can resume deployment duties.
- The company and the Navy have not released a detailed list of upgrades or a firm timetable for the work, leaving the exact scope and the ship’s return to full operational status unclear.
- The contract is tied to a Navy pilot launched after maintenance shortfalls on Boxer disrupted the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit’s 2024 Indo‑Pacific deployment and it signals a test of longer planning windows and industrial‑base capacity to keep big‑deck amphibious ships ready.