The Department of Defense has given an additional $194.1 million in extended contract funds to General Dynamics Mission Systems to support work on missile technology for the U.S. Navy.
PITTSFIELD — The U.S. Department of Defense has given an additional $194.1 million in extended contract funds to General Dynamics Mission Systems to support work on missile technology for the U.S. Navy, most of which will be completed in Pittsfield.
Specifically, the contract will support the development of a fire control subsystem for a future nuclear-armed, sea-launched cruise missile the Navy is developing.
In an Oct. 19 news releaseGeneral Dynamics said the contract is expected to create 200 new jobs between the company’s Pittsfield campus and its office in Manassas, Va. 75 percent of the work will take place in Pittsfield, while the remaining quarter will take place in Manassas.
Joe Sowers, a spokesman for General Dynamics Mission Systems, described the subsystem as “an advanced computer-based system that helps the submarine crew plan, prepare, and manage the use of the missile safely and reliably aboard the submarine.”
General Dynamics Mission Systems, which has previously worked on a fire control system for the Trident II missiledesigns technology and systems that control Navy ships and their weapons.
The massive contract is just one of the latest injections of federal funds into General Dynamics Mission Systemswhich has consistently designed products for the United States military. The Navy is currently the company’s largest awarding agency, according to federal spending datawith $591.3 million in total obligations as of Friday.
“SLCM-N is a national priority, and the Navy requires this deterrence capability on an accelerated timeline,” said Dr. Laura Hooks, vice president of the company’s Maritime and Strategic Business division, in the news release. “We recognize the responsibility of developing a safe and reliable subsystem for a program that will strengthen sea-based strategic deterrence.”
Sowers did not clarify whether this contract, or the U.S. Navy’s “accelerated timeline” for receiving the technology, is directly tied to the ongoing Iran war. He said questions about the program’s timeline should be referred to Navy public affairs.
General Dynamics began work on the contract in April, and is expected to wrap up in September 2028, according to the release.
Sowers said the company could not provide an exact number for how many jobs will be added solely in Pittsfield. As of Friday afternoon, there were just over 180 open positions in Pittsfield listed on the General Dynamics Mission Systems website. Most jobs require candidates to obtain a security clearance from the Department of Defense.
The Pittsfield facility, at 100 Plastics Ave., currently employs about 1,600 people.
“We have welcomed over 300 new hires throughout 2026 and expect continued growth in 2027 and beyond,” Sowers said.
Source: www.berkshireeagle.com
