A Fortune 500 contractor has locked in one of its biggest Navy paydays yet: a $2,409,077,590 cost-plus-fixed-fee modification to keep the nuclear reactors powering America's submarines and aircraft carriers running smoothly. The deal, awarded to Fluor Marine Propulsion LLC on Sept. 24, 2026, covers continued work for the Naval Nuclear Laboratory, the government-run research and training operation that keeps the Navy's nuclear fleet at sea.
The award was detailed by ClearanceJobs, which reported that the Naval Sea Systems Command in Washington, D.C., serves as the contracting activity overseeing the deal. Fluor Marine Propulsion LLC is a special purpose entity of Fluor Corporation, a Fortune 500 company, and is based in Arlington, Virginia, according to the original reporting by Kayode Crown for AL.com. Fluor has managed and operated the Naval Nuclear Laboratory through that subsidiary since 2018, per the same reporting.
Money alone doesn't capture what's actually happening inside these labs. The Naval Nuclear Laboratory's work includes naval nuclear propulsion technology research, design, construction, testing, operation and maintenance, and the lab develops advanced naval nuclear propulsion technology for the fleet, according to AL.com's reporting. It also trains nuclear operators for submarine and aircraft-carrier crews, a mission ClearanceJobs' reporting echoes in describing the lab as staffed by Department of Energy employees responsible for propulsion-system development, technical support services and the training of sailors who manage reactors installed in Navy aircraft carriers and submarines.
Where the Billions Are Actually Going
The new contract notice, released Oct. 23 according to AL.com's reporting, splits the work across three facilities in three states. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania gets the largest share at 47%, Schenectady, New York follows close behind at 45%, and Idaho Falls, Idaho rounds things out at 8%, per the same ClearanceJobs report. At the time of award, fiscal 2026 Navy operations and maintenance funds of $582,062 and fiscal 2026 shipbuilding and conversion funds of $15,838 were obligated, the outlet reported.
The Naval Nuclear Laboratory handles reactor development, testing and support, underscoring why these three sites keep attracting such large sums year after year. The lab isn't a single building but a network of Department of Energy facilities doing some of the most technically demanding work in the Navy's arsenal.
A Pattern of Growing Awards
This isn't Fluor's first massive check from the Pentagon for this work, and it won't be the last under the current arrangement. The company picked up a $2,053,636,211 modification in 2025 to exercise fiscal 2026 options, according to EnvZone. Before that, a Fluor business received a $1.4 billion contract modification in 2024, as reported by GovCon Wire, and separately picked up a $1.03 billion modification, per Defense Daily's reporting.
Those figures trace back to a much larger foundation. In 2018, Fluor won a potential $13.07 billion contract from the Navy for propulsion work, GovCon Wire noted.
Company Leadership on the Mission
Fluor Corporation announced a five-year contract extension running through 2028 back in 2023, and at the time, Tom D'Agostino, who was president of Fluor's mission solutions business, spoke to the stakes involved. “Fluor has supported our nation’s security since 1944,” D'Agostino said, according to AL.com's reporting. He added that Fluor was “proud that the U.S. government continues to place its confidence in us to ensure that the nuclear Navy remains superior and is able to carry out its vital missions anywhere in the world,” and said Fluor “looks forward to supporting the Naval Nuclear Laboratory.”
With the latest $2.4 billion modification now in hand, continued work across Pittsburgh, Schenectady and Idaho Falls is covered by the award, feeding into a contract relationship that has spanned nearly a decade and shows little sign of winding down before its 2028 completion target.
