Photo caption: Sailors assigned to the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Benfold (DDG 65) man the rails as the ship returns home to Naval Station Everett on Oct. 16, 2026, after an 8-month deployment to the U.S. 3rd Fleet, 5th Fleet and 7th Fleet areas of operations. DDG 65 was built at HII’s Ingalls Shipbuilding division. (U.S. Navy Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Jonathan Estrada-Eguizabal)

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Oct. 23, 2026

HII’s Weekly News Digest is compiled every Friday by the Corporate Communications team to summarize and highlight news stories of significance to the company.

HII’s Enlighten IT Lands $333 Million Air Force Contract: GovCon Wire reported on Tuesday that HII subsidiary Enlighten IT Consulting has secured a $332.8 million U.S. Air Force contract to provide enterprise services supporting the Joint Cyber Warfighting Architecture (JCWA). The firm-fixed-price contract will support interoperability with the JCWA Common Runtime Stack for data‑edge analytics, storage and transport capabilities within the Integrated Defensive Cyber System architecture. The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center at Joint Base San Antonio, Texas, is overseeing the award.

Ingalls Shipbuilding Wins $99 Million Destroyer Award: WLOX reported on Tuesday that HII’s Ingalls Shipbuilding division has received a $99 million contract modification from the U.S. Navy for critical testing and upgrades to the Zumwalt-class destroyer Lyndon B. Johnson (DDG 1002). The ship arrived in Pascagoula in January 2022 to complete installation, activation and testing of its combat systems. The new funding will support sea trials for those systems. While at Ingalls, the destroyer is also receiving modernization upgrades, including integration of the Conventional Prompt Strike (CPS) hypersonic‑missile system, making it the Navy’s second platform equipped with CPS. Defence Blog reported on Oct. 17 that the lead ship, USS Zumwalt (DDG 1000), has already completed the same conversion. Ingalls replaced the forward gun with four large‑diameter launch tubes, each able to hold three hypersonic missiles, giving the ship a total of 12. USS Zumwalt completed builder’s sea trials in January 2026. USS Michael Monsoor (DDG 1001) is scheduled to receive the CPS system during a future yard period.

Mike Petters Joins HII Board Of Directors: Washington Exec reported on Tuesday that HII’s former CEO and president, Mike Petters, has been elected to the company’s board of directors. Petters stepped down as HII’s first president and CEO in 2022 after leading the company through its 2011 spinoff from Northrop Grumman. He joined Newport News Shipbuilding in 1987 in the Los Angeles-class submarine construction division and later became president of the shipyard. GovCon Wire reported on Wednesday that Petters is a 1982 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy. He served aboard the ballistic‑missile submarine USS George Bancroft (SSBN 643) and spent five years in the Navy Reserve. He later earned an MBA from William & Mary.

Defense Contractors Report Third Quarter Earnings: Several major U.S. aerospace and defense companies reported third‑quarter earnings this week, with each raising their full‑year guidance. The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday that Northrop Grumman expects growth next year and beyond due to rising demand for defense technologies. Northrop posted higher third‑quarter earnings and sales, with strong results in its aeronautics and defense units. Defense Daily reported on Tuesday that RTX saw strong third‑quarter performance driven by its commercial aerospace and defense businesses. Higher sales came from naval, land and air defense programs — including Patriot, Standard Missile and Tomahawk systems — as well as commercial aerospace and aftermarket work. Defense work at the Collins Aerospace segment and the Pratt & Whitney engine division also contributed. GE Aerospace raised its 2026 profit forecast for the second time this year as demand for aircraft engine repairs and spare parts remained high, despite higher fuel prices squeezing airline profits. However, the company signaled weaker‑than‑expected fourth‑quarter earnings and said it expects additional costs next year as it increases production of engines for Boeing’s delayed 777X aircraft. The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday that Lockheed Martin’s third-quarter profit came in at $1.85 billion, or $7.97 a share, compared with $1.62 billion, or $6.95 a share, a year earlier. Lockheed officials separately said the Pentagon has pledged to buy the company’s F-35 jet fighters over the next 10 years, the longest commitment among recent Trump administration efforts to set its suppliers on a wartime footing.

Navy Expands AI-Enabled Ship Repair Contract: Defense Scoop reported on Tuesday that the U.S. Navy is quadrupling the value of its contract with Gecko Robotics to expand use of the company’s wall‑climbing robots, drones and sensors that gather data and use artificial intelligence to support ship repairs. Originally unveiled in March, the five‑year agreement — managed by the Navy and the General Services Administration — had a $71 million ceiling and covered inspections on 18 Pacific Fleet ships. The expanded $300 million contract will allow the technology to scale to the Atlantic Surface Fleet. Fox News reported Tuesday that Gecko’s technology can save the Navy up to $8 million per ship in repair costs and identify structural problems up to 50 times faster than traditional inspection methods.

HII’s Weekly News Digest is produced by HII’s Corporate Communications team and posted to MyHII every Friday.

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