Curtiss-Wright has won contracts worth more than $225 million from Bechtel Plant Machinery to supply components for the US Navy’s nuclear propulsion program. The announcement was made on November 4, 2026.
The package includes valves, pumps, and instrumentation and control systems for Virginia-class nuclear-powered attack submarines, Columbia-class submarines and Ford-class aircraft carriers. The supplies serve both the construction of new vessels and the maintenance of the fleet already in service. According to the company, the technology will support ongoing shipbuilding and maintenance activities.
The work is carried out at facilities in New York and Pennsylvania, within the Defense Electronics and Naval & Power segments. Engineering, production and testing are already under way. Work will continue through 2030, giving the company four years of secured backlog on these lines.
Bechtel Plant Machinery manages the procurement of naval reactor components on behalf of the Navy. Curtiss-Wright is a long-standing supplier within this supply chain. CEO Lynn Bamford noted that the company maintains a long-standing partnership with the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program. The program covers every nuclear-powered submarine and aircraft carrier that has entered service in the US Navy. The company’s portfolio includes propulsion equipment, control systems, pumps, valves and motors.
Demand is underpinned by ongoing programs. The Virginia class is in continuous production, and the Columbia class is set to replace the current ballistic missile submarines. The Ford-class carriers are the new generation following the Nimitz class. Each vessel requires dozens of nuclear-qualified components, with very strict safety and traceability requirements. Few suppliers hold the certifications needed to produce them.
The order also matters to Curtiss-Wright beyond the defense sector. The expertise built up on valves and control systems for naval reactors is the same that the company applies to the commercial nuclear market, where it supplies components for power plants. A stable naval order book through 2030 funds the workshops and skilled workforce that also serve new civilian reactors, including SMRs, once those programs move into the supply phase.
