Photo caption: A U.S. Marine with Maritime Special Purpose Force, 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable), provides aerial sniper support from a CH-53E Super Stallion helicopter during insertion training aboard San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock USS San Antonio (LPD 17). HII’s Ingalls Shipbuilding division is the sole builder of San Antonio-class ships. (U.S. Marine Corps photo)
Dec. 5, 2025
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-Built SSBN Bow Arrives In Groton For Final Assembly: Defense Daily reported Monday that the bow section of the first Columbia-class ballistic missile submarine arrived at Electric Boat’s Groton yard last week, allowing final assembly of the District of Columbia (SSBN 826) to begin. The delivery means all major modules for SSBN-826 are now on site, including the bow and stern sections built by HII’s Newport News Shipbuilding division. Rep. Joe Courtney called the milestone a breakthrough for the program and said recent deliveries, including a Northrop Grumman turbine generator, help resolve significant supply chain delays. Electric Boat also installed the submarine’s motor in the NNS-built stern in November as work progresses. General Dynamics executives previously said the program slowed because of late supplier components, although they now report some improvement across the industrial base. GD CEO Phebe Novakovic said the submarine is about 60% complete and that having all modules in Groton sets up a pivotal year ahead. The Navy expects delivery of SSBN 826 in fiscal year 2028. Electric Boat leads construction of the Columbia class while HII builds and delivers the bow and stern sections for each submarine.
Navy Awards HII $471.9 Million Contract For Carrier Fleet Support: GovCon Wire reported on Tuesday that the Navy awarded HII a contract worth $471.9 million to support Nimitz-class and Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carriers. The cost-plus-fixed-fee award funds engineering, technical and design services along with logistics support, configuration and database management, modernization work and ship change documentation. The Department of the Navy said the work will be performed in Newport News, Virginia; Portsmouth, New Hampshire; and Bremerton, Washington. The contract runs through November 2030 if all options are exercised. The award was not competed because the Navy determined HII is the only source capable of providing the required services for the Ford-class carriers it designed and built. HII previously provided similar support for both carrier classes under a $129.7 million contract issued in 2019.
HII Delivers Submarine; Destroyer Completes Trials: Interesting Engineering reported on Nov. 23 that the U.S. Navy is preparing Virginia-class attack submarine Massachusetts (SSN 798) for commissioning. HII announced on Nov. 21 that its Newport News Shipbuilding division delivered the boat to the service following rigorous sea trials. Massachusetts is expected to bring significant warfighting capability to the fleet, created by the boat’s enhanced stealth, sophisticated surveillance capabilities and special warfare enhancements. USNI News reported on Nov. 21 that submarine was christened in 2023 and completed its first sea trials in October of this year. Massachusetts is the 12th Virginia-class submarine delivered by NNS, and the 25th built as part of the teaming agreement with General Dynamics Electric Boat. Meanwhile, The Defense Post reported on Nov. 24, that HII’s Ingalls Shipbuilding division has concluded the final trials for the 78th Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer Ted Stevens (DDG 128). The trials, facilitated both in port and at sea, included a full series of acceptance tests and evaluations overseen by the military’s Board of Inspection and Survey.
| Social Media Highlight Of The Week
Posted Friday on Mission Technologies’ LinkedIn page:
“Mission Technologies has joined the Corporate Partners Program at the University of Maryland – A. James Clark School of Engineering. “This collaboration underscores HII’s commitment to bridging industry and academia to accelerate innovation in defense and national security,” said Garry Schwartz, chief operating officer of Mission Technologies. As part of the sponsorship, Mission Technologies’ will also establish the HII Lecture Series, convening thought leaders from government, industry and academia to explore emerging technologies, address mission challenges and identify opportunities for collaboration. Read more in HII’s Newsroom” |
Navy Secretary Cuts Constellation-Class Frigate Program: Breaking Defense reported on Wednesday that analysts are still making sense of a decision announced last week by Navy Secretary John Phelan that the service will accept just two Constellation-class frigates built in Wisconsin, cancel the remaining four vessels on contract and make a “strategic shift” away from the program. Now, the Navy must move quickly to aggressively reinvest into small, maneuverable and unmanned ships both to ensure Fincantieri’s Marinette Marine shipyard in Wisconsin stays viable moving forward and replace the capability it is losing by truncating the frigate program. The Wall Street Journal reported on Nov. 25, the first ship in the class was once scheduled to launch in 2026 but is now slated to set sea in late 2029. A Fincantieri spokesman said, looking ahead, the company expects the Navy will honor its agreement with the shipbuilder by channeling future work toward other vessels. The program has run into a series of cost overruns and delays since Fincantieri won the contract to build the frigates in 2020.
Investments Announced in Gulf Coast Shipyards: Defense Daily reported on Wednesday that Davie Defense has completed its acquisition of Gulf Copper & Manufacturing Corp.’s shipbuilding assets in Texas, which will support the Coast Guard’s future arctic security cutter polar icebreaker program. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The Maritime Executive reported on Wednesday that Gulf Copper has two dry docks in each of the locations and a combined 5,000 feet of dock space. The facility has recently expanded its scope of work as is completing Flight III Arleigh Burke–class destroyer units. Meanwhile, USNI News reported on Wednesday that unmanned boat maker Saronic announced a $300 million expansion to its Louisiana shipyard. The Austin, Texas-based robotics firm bought the former Gulf Craft yard in April to build larger unmanned surface vehicles beyond the company’s current slate of small unmanned surface vessels. The company broke ground on the new construction project in November, which will add more than 300,000 square feet of new production capacity. The project is slated for completion by the end of 2026, with expanded operations coming online in early 2027.
HII’s Weekly News Digest is produced by HII’s Corporate Communications team and posted to Homeport every Friday.
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