General Dynamics Bath Iron Works (BIW) has been awarded a US Navy contract worth $2.8 billion on Monday for building four guided-missile destroyers over the next five years.

The contract has provided assurances to workers at the Maine's largest employers. Officials also said that the BIW is likely to be awarded a contract for a fifth destroyer worth $700 million if the US Navy is able to secure an agreement with Congress to cover the shortfall in funding. BIW already has five DDG-51 ships under contract for the US Navy.

The US Navy had announced contracts for design and construction for nine DDG-51 Arleigh Burke-class destroyers till the fiscal year 2017. It will include four at the shipyard in Bath and five at Huntington Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, Mississippi. The ships measure more than 500 feet long and are capable of carrying crews of 276 and are equipped with an array of missile, torpedo and machine gun systems as well as two fully armed helicopters.

Navy Ray Mabus said in a statement that, “This award enables stability in our industrial base and ensures the Navy and the nation get the most efficient and affordable build plan for these destroyers.”