WASHINGTON – The Navy will exercise a $77.7 million option for a planning yard class services contract with Bath Iron Works, U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe has announced.

“Today’s announcement builds upon the yard’s previously awarded contract for lead yard services, further reinforcing BIW’s leadership in a wide range of Navy contracts,” said Snowe, who chairs the Senate Armed Services Committee’s Seapower Subcommittee.

The contract modifies a previous announcement by exercising the Navy’s option for planning yard class services for fiscal year 2001, including long-range planning, research engineering and development for the DDG-51 Aegis destroyer program.

Work on the contract, awarded and administered by the Naval Sea Systems Command, Arlington, Va., must be completed by September 2001.