Who Owns General Dynamics Marine Systems?

The history of General Dynamics Marine Systems is inseparable from the histories of its three principal operating units: Electric Boat, Bath Iron Works, and NASSCO, each of which has a distinct origin predating General Dynamics' formation.

General Dynamics Electric Boat traces its origins to the Electric Boat Company, founded in 1899 in New London, Connecticut, by Isaac Rice. The company was established to commercialize the submarine designs of John Philip Holland, whose Holland VI submarine had been purchased by the U.S. Navy in 1900 as the Navy's first modern submarine. Electric Boat built submarines for the U.S. Navy throughout both World Wars and became the Navy's primary submarine builder. The company was acquired by General Dynamics in 1952, becoming one of the founding units of the modern General Dynamics Corporation. Electric Boat's most significant historical achievement was the design and construction of USS Nautilus (SSN-571), the world's first nuclear-powered submarine, which was commissioned in September 1954. This achievement established Electric Boat as the preeminent nuclear submarine builder in the United States, a position it has maintained for more than seven decades.

Bath Iron Works was founded in 1884 in Bath, Maine, by Thomas Hyde, a Civil War veteran who recognized Bath's deep-water harbor and skilled shipbuilding workforce as ideal for naval construction. The company built its first Navy vessel in 1890 and has constructed ships for the U.S. Navy continuously since then, including destroyers, cruisers, and frigates across every major naval conflict of the 20th century. Bath Iron Works was acquired by General Dynamics in December 1995 for approximately $300 million, becoming the surface combatant component of what would become the Marine Systems segment. Bath Iron Works is the primary builder of Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers, the backbone of the U.S. Navy's surface combatant fleet.

NASSCO (National Steel and Shipbuilding Company) was founded in 1905 in San Diego, California, and acquired by General Dynamics in 1998. NASSCO specializes in the construction of auxiliary and support ships for the U.S. Navy, including fleet replenishment oilers, expeditionary fast transports, and hospital ships, as well as commercial tankers and container ships for civilian operators. NASSCO's San Diego location on the Pacific coast provides strategic positioning for supporting U.S. Navy Pacific Fleet requirements.

General Dynamics formally organized these three shipbuilding operations into the Marine Systems segment in the mid-1990s following the Bath Iron Works acquisition. The segment has grown substantially since then, driven by the Virginia-class submarine program, which was initiated in 1998 as the successor to the Seawolf-class and has become the largest shipbuilding program in U.S. Navy history by unit count. The Virginia-class program is executed jointly by Electric Boat and Huntington Ingalls Industries' Newport News Shipbuilding division, with the two shipyards alternating as lead contractor on successive boats.

The Columbia-class ballistic missile submarine program, initiated in 2017 as the replacement for the aging Ohio-class fleet, represents the most strategically significant and expensive shipbuilding program in U.S. history. The Columbia class is designed to carry the Trident II D5 submarine-launched ballistic missile and will form the sea-based leg of the U.S. nuclear triad for decades. Electric Boat is the lead contractor for the Columbia-class program, with the lead boat, USS District of Columbia (SSBN-826), under construction as of early 2026. The program has faced schedule and cost challenges, with the Navy and Electric Boat working to address workforce and supply chain constraints that have affected production rates.

In fiscal year 2025, General Dynamics Marine Systems generated revenues of approximately $4.7 billion, reflecting continued growth from the Virginia-class and Columbia-class programs. The segment's operating margin has been pressured by the Columbia-class program's early production challenges, which are typical for complex first-of-class naval vessels.