The top government purchasers: Navy--buying ships becomes a family affair

The Navy kicked off a new era in ship design and construction this spring by awarding a multibillion-- dollar contract for building a family of surface combat vessels. Like the Army and the Air Force, the Navy believes that transforming itself into a 21 st century military force requires shelving

The Navy originally had planned to award a contract for developing its nextgeneration destroyer, known as the DD-21, last fall. But the service delayed that award and announced it was no longer interested in buying only destroyers. Instead, Navy officials asked contractors to come up with plans for building a family of surface ships-including destroyers, cruisers and ships designed for combat in coastal waters. In April, Northrop Grumman was awarded a $2.9 billion multi-- year contract under the new program, which was re-christened the DD(X).