Photo caption: Amphibious transport dock ship USS John P. Murtha (LPD 26) steams through the Pacific Ocean, April 8, 2026. The Ingalls-built John P. Murtha is underway in the U.S. 3rd Fleet area of operations supporting NASA’s Artemis II mission, retrieving the crew and spacecraft following their return to Earth and splashdown in the Pacific Ocean. NASA’s Artemis II mission sent four astronauts on a flight around the moon in the Orion space capsule, marking the first time humans journeyed to deep space in over 50 years. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Kenneth Melseth)
April 10, 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 Signs Partnership With GrayMatter Robotics: ExecutiveBiz reported on Tuesday that HII and GrayMatter Robotics have partnered to assess the use of physical artificial intelligence in shipbuilding to improve throughput, support the workforce and reinforce the maritime industrial base. The companies formalized the partnership by signing a memorandum of understanding at GMR’s headquarters in Carson, California. HII and GMR will collaborate to identify and pursue opportunities across four areas: autonomous shipbuilding capability development; integration of GMR technologies with other shipbuilding tech initiatives; acceleration and scaling of unmanned system production; and workforce training to expand automation. Inside Defense reported on Tuesday that the agreement comes as HII strives to increase its shipbuilding throughput by 15% in 2026 by investing a significant amount of its own money to fund similar partnerships. By growing its supply chain and implementing a distributed shipbuilding strategy, the company also aims to outsource over 2 million hours of work in 2026 — a 30% increase from 2025, Eric Chewning, HII’s executive vice president of maritime systems and corporate strategies, told reporters. The partnership follows a similar announcement in February between HII and Ohio-based Path Robotics. HII sent 40,000 pounds of steel to the Path Robotics facility, where they worked on non-controlled unclassified information designs provided by HII, while moving toward becoming certified around a specific Navy weld standard. Path Robotics completed welding a representative foundation, and delivered it to the GrayMatter facility, Chewning said.
NNS Redelivers USS New Jersey (SSN 796) After Post-Shakedown Availability: 13NewsNow reported on Friday, April 3, that USS New Jersey (SSN 796) has been redelivered to the U.S. Navy after completing its post-shakedown availability at HII’s Newport News Shipbuilding division. The Virginia-class fast attack submarine underwent post-delivery work, a standard maintenance period that includes system upgrades, testing, and adjustments made after a vessel’s initial time at sea. According to HII, the shipyard completed combat systems and electronics improvements, along with general maintenance. Interesting Engineering reported on Saturday that the availability is a standard but essential process that ensures the submarine meets performance expectations before entering regular deployment cycles. New Jersey is the first in its class to incorporate design modifications for a gender-integrated crew, combining advanced warfighting capability with inclusive personnel practices.
Shipbuilding Takes Center Stage In White House Budget Request: Inside Defense reported on Monday that the Pentagon’s expansive fiscal year 2027 budget request features $150 billion for Navy procurement including a $65.8 billion, 34-vessel shipbuilding request that would amount to a massive increase if approved by Congress. The Navy is asking for $126 billion in procurement funding in its base budget and anticipates receiving another $24 billion from a separate reconciliation package, according to Pentagon budget documents published over the weekend. The Navy shipbuilding request consists of 18 battle force ships and 16 non-battle force ships and is made up of $60.2 billion in discretionary spending and $5.6 billion in mandatory funding. It includes, but is not limited to, one Columbia-class ballistic missile submarine, two Virginia-class attack submarines, one Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, one FF(X) frigate, one Flight II San Antonio-class amphibious warship and one America-class amphibious warship. In placing the majority of shipbuilding funds in the bas e budget, the FY 2027 approach differs from the $45 billion FY 2026 shipbuilding appropriation, which leaned heavily on reconciliation dollars to buy one Columbia submarine, two Virginia boats, two destroyers, 10 limited ship mediums, three oilers, one T-AGOS and a handful of other non-combatant vessels. The FY 2027 budget also lists $1 billion in advance procurement for the Trump-administration’s notional BBG(X) battleship along with $1.4 billion to procure the first of a new class of FF(X) frigates based on the Coast Guard’s Legend-class national security cutter that was built at HII’s Ingalls Shipbuilding division.
| Social Media Highlight Of The Week
Posted Friday on HII’s Facebook page: “Today is the 63rd anniversary of the loss of U.S. Navy submarine Thresher (SSN 593) at sea. An investigation concluded that tragedy was most likely the result of a failed piping joint that led to the submarine’s implosion. Although Newport News Shipbuilding didn’t build Thresher, we honor the 129 officers, crew and civilians who lost their lives during the disaster. This tragic anniversary is an important reminder that our quality work keeps Navy sailors safe. Please take a moment to watch this video, which includes a musical tribute to those lost, performed by NNS shipbuilder Aaron Reeves, and a message from Philip Ashe, our SUBSAFE program deputy director.” The video is available to watch during non-work hours on HII’s social media channels. |
Navy Announces Inactivation Of USS Boise (SSN 764): Axios reported on Friday that the U.S. Navy is inactivating Los Angeles-class submarine USS Boise (SSN 764). Boise is at HII’s Newport News Shipbuilding division where it was undergoing overhaul work. USNI News previously reported that NNS won a $1.17 billion contract in 2024 to start the work. The contract was awarded seven years after the boat lost its dive certification and had remained idle at Norfolk Naval Station. Persistent backlogs at public shipyards had pushed the scheduled maintenance on Boise back for several years before the Navy awarded the 2024 contract to NNS. “After a rigorous, data-driven analysis, we’ve made the tough but necessary decision to inactivate the USS Boise,” said Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Daryl Caudle, in a Navy announcement. “This strategic move allows us to reallocate America’s highly-skilled workforce to our highest priorities: delivering new Virginia- and Columbia-class submarines and improving the readiness of the current fleet. We owe it to our Sailors and the nation to make these tough calls to build a more capable and ready Navy.”
HII’s Weekly News Digest is produced by HII’s Corporate Communications team and posted to Homeport every Friday.
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