On Marh 26, General Dynamics NASSCO, a wholly owned subsidiary of General Dynamics (NYSE:GD), laid the keel for USNS William McLean, the twelfth ship of the Lewis and Clark class of dry cargo-ammunition ships (T-AKE). The ship is named in honor of the U.S. Navy physicist who in the 1950s pioneered the technology behind the Sidewinder missile, the first effective U.S. air-to-air missile. Construction of the William McLean began in September 2009. NASSCO is scheduled to deliver the ship to the Navy in the third quarter of 2011. When it joins the fleet, the William McLean will be used primarily to stage U.S. Marine Corps equipment abroad by the Navy's Military Sealift Command. \
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