Bath Iron Works has been awarded a modification of nearly $24.4 million on its contract to build three DDG-1000 destroyers.

The modification, announced Tuesday, is the result of the Navy exercising an option for additional technical and industrial-engineering work on the destroyer’s design.

BIW said the additional work will be completed between now and September.

The company has a contract to build three Zumwalt-class DDG-1000s, next-generation “stealth destroyers” designed for operations close to shore. Each ship will cost nearly $4 billion to build.

Each 610-foot destroyer will feature a wave-piercing hull, composite deckhouse, electric drive propulsion, advanced sonar, missiles and powerful guns that fire rocket-propelled warheads as far as 100 miles.

The first DDG-1000 is due for delivery to the Navy in late 2015.

BIW is owned by Virginia-based defense contractor General Dynamics and has more than 5,000 employees in Bath, making it one of the largest private employers in Maine.

Edward D. Murphy can be contacted at 791-6465 or at:emurphy@pressherald.com

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