Photo caption: An F/A-18F Super Hornet, attached to the Diamondbacks of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 102, lands on the flight deck of Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73) while underway in the Pacific Ocean, Oct. 2, 2024. HII’s Newport News Shipbuilding division re-delivered CVN 73 to the U.S. Navy in 2023 after a successful mid-life refueling and complex overhaul. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class August Clawson)

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Oct. 4, 2024

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.

Amphib Block Buy Will Shore Up Supplier Base: Stars and Stripes reported on Wednesday that the Navy’s agreement to buy four amphibious assault ships for $9.6 billion will help strengthen the shipbuilding industry and provide a roadmap for HII’s Ingalls Shipbuilding division and its suppliers in the coming years. Lisa Franchetti, chief of naval operations, told participants during a Defense Writer’s Group discussion this week that the bulk buy brings predictability to the shipbuilding industry and has the potential to accelerate the construction. Paul Roden, the chairman of the Amphibious Warship Industrial Base Coalition, said the funding allows Ingalls and suppliers to invest in their workforces, get ahead of inflation and ensure on-time deliveries of the warships. Additionally, buying the ships in bulk is expected to save $1 billion, officials with the Navy and HII have said.

Mission Technologies Wins $458 Million IT Modernization Contract: Virginia Business reported on Tuesday that HII’s Mission Technologies division has won a $458 million federal defense contract to modernize information technology architecture. Under the five-year task order, Mission Technologies will use model-based systems engineering to develop, assess and implement technical solutions to improve cybersecurity, add capabilities and enable cloud migration on U.S. Defense Department communication and information technology networks. Washington Exec reported on Wednesday that Mission Technologies will also leverage model-based systems engineering to focus on communication hardware prototyping, waveform development, mobile ad-hoc network aerial relay solutions, payloads and deployable communication kits.

Navy Invests In Submarine Industrial Base: National Defense reported on Wednesday that Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Lisa Franchetti said the service is investing in its submarine industrial base to address challenges with workforce retention and within the supply chain so that “we accelerate the building of those submarines — both Columbia and the Virginias — to get them up to the cadence that we need them to be at.” Franchetti said industry’s largest concern is both attracting and retaining employees. In September, the Navy awarded non-profit BlueForge Alliance a contract “to support planning, resourcing, coordinating and uplifting the U.S. submarine industrial base and foreign military sales requirements.” The two-year contract has an initial value of $503 million but can rise up to $980 million.

Congress Readies For Full Schedule After November Element: Roll Call reported on Tuesday that Congress is preparing for a busy lame-duck session, with lawmakers aiming to finalize the must-pass fiscal year 2025 National Defense Authorization Act. The House and Senate are negotiating a compromise between their differing versions, with the House bill including controversial conservative provisions and adhering to an $883.7 billion cap set by the 2023 debt limit deal, while the Senate proposes an additional $25 billion. One key issue is funding for a second Virginia-class submarine, which Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin warned in a letter could undermine the Navy’s next-generation fighter program by diverting $400 million reported by Breaking Defense on Wednesday. The Senate Appropriations Committee has already added $357 million in incremental funding for materials for a second submarine. Lawmakers are set to resume negotiations when they return the Washington, D.C. on Nov. 12.

 Lawmakers Urge White House to Expedite AUKUS Pillar II Sharing: The Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported on Friday that the White House is being urged to speed up the sharing of sensitive military technology with its AUKUS partners under Pillar II of the trilateral agreement. The chairs of the U.S. House Armed Services and Foreign Affairs committees are warning current restrictions on defense exports are hindering America’s ability to develop key capabilities under AUKUS Pillar II, which they argue is needed to counter a “grave and imminent threat” from China. In a letter sent this week, U.S. Reps. Mike Rogers and Mike McCaul pushed the Biden administration to share more defense equipment with Australia and the United Kingdom by loosening the “excluded technologies list” (ETL). Australia is asking for access to U.S. precision weapons, undersea drones and maritime acoustic systems. In August, the U.S. agreed to loosen up strict requirements known as International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) for its AUKUS partners, allowing Australia and the UK to access 80% of its defense exports without first applying for a license. Meanwhile, Defense Scoop reported on Monday that existing AUKUS members are considering whether to include additional countries such as Japan, Canada, New Zealand and South Korea into the Pillar II agreement.

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

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