Photo caption: PHILIPPINE SEA (Aug. 10, 2025) U.S. Marine Corps CH-53E Super Stallions assigned to Medium Tiltrotor Squadron (VMM) 265 (Rein.), 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, prepare to take off from the flight deck of the forward-deployed amphibious assault ship USS America (LHA 6), while conducting flight operations. HII’s Ingalls Shipbuilding division constructed LHA 6 and delivered it to the U.S. Navy in 2014. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Nicholas Douglass)

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Sept. 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.

Senate Moves On NDAA, House Action To Come Next Week: Politico reported on Tuesday that senators voted 84-14 to advance their version of the National Defense Authorization Act, clearing an initial procedural hurdle for the legislation that must pass this month. The policy bill, which passed the Armed Services Committee in a near-unanimous vote in July, supports a nearly $925 billion defense topline, which is a $32 billion hike to the administration’s national security budget. Roll Call reported Wednesday that Congress faces a Sept. 30 deadline to avoid a partial shutdown. Fox News reported on Tuesday that the NDAA is the first legislation senators voted on since they returned from August recess. The House version of the bill, which is $77 billion short of the Senate’s version, is expected to be considered next week. Meanwhile, the Washington Times published commentary on Tuesday from Heritage Foundation senior research fellow Brent Sadler who believes the White House and Congress must, again, focus on shipbuilding to regain the momentum needed to “revive the American maritime industry.” “Congressional leaders should set a goal to vote on proposed maritime legislation before the year’s end. The Building Ships in America Act should top the list,” he wrote.

Navy Remains Light On New Unmanned Surface Vehicle Requirements: Breaking Defense reported on Tuesday that the Navy’s upcoming modular attack surface craft program is garnering historically high levels of interest from the defense industry. The Navy envisions the unmanned surface vehicle as carrying a variety of payloads, and it should be easy to build and repair en masse. Beyond that, the Navy has been intentional in not overly prescribing requirements about what the vessel should look like. Instead, the service is asking defense firms to offer them the right solution to fill the Navy’s needs. Inside Defense previously reported the service released a solicitation July 28 for the new USV, which is a merger of the medium and large USV programs. The solicitation was released after the Navy clipped funding and procurement for LUSV in its fiscal year 2025 budget proposal, leading the service and lawmakers to meet last November to discuss funding lines to support MASC. The new capability aligns with the Navy’s progress in creating more fully unmanned platforms.

Growth In EU Defense Spending Sparks Competition To Lure Talent: Defense News reported on Tuesday that the European Union collectively spent $402 billion on defense last year, exceeding projections and setting a new record, according to a new report by the European Defense Agency. The agency said it expected defense spending to increase about 11% in 2025 to $446 billion. Only the United States has higher military expenditures. The growing level of defense spending is driven primarily by countries’ purchasing of new equipment, as well as by increased research and development funding across the EU’s 27 members. The growth comes as competition heats up between European defense companies to lure younger talent. Bloomberg reported on Wednesday that European defense employers are offering yoga and language classes and boosting pay to appeal to a wider spectrum of candidates. The growth in defense spending could require as many as 760,000 new skilled workers in Europe by 2030. Defense companies are even eyeing the other industries — such as automakers — to poach talent. Italian defense firm Leonardo is offering more competitive pay and strengthening career development programs, as it targets hiring up to 7,000 people by 2028 — including in quantum technologies, artificial intelligence and high-performance computing. Rheinmetall now sponsors the Borussia Dortmund football team to appeal to younger workers. The company seeks to add 9,000 employees by 2027, including plant operators, welders and aircraft mechanics.

HII Leaders Included In Virginia 500 Power List: HII President and CEO Chris Kastner, as well as Newport News Shipbuilding President Kari Wilkinson, were both included in the 2025-26 Virginia 500 Power List, created by Virginia Business. The list includes “Virginia’s most powerful and influential business leaders.” The publication noted Kastner’s leadership through the purchase of a South Carolina facility that has helped increase HII’s shipbuilding throughput. Wilkinson was appointed president of NNS in January where she now oversees more than 26,000 employees who build nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and submarines. NNS is building two Ford-class carriers, the future Enterprise (CVN 80) and Doris Miller (CVN 81), in drydock simultaneously. It is also working with General Dynamics Electric Boat to build 12 nuclear powered Columbia-class submarines, a program currently estimated to cost $132 billion.

Department Of Defense To Become The Department Of War: The Associated Press reported on Thursday that President Donald Trump plans to sign an executive order Friday to rebrand the Department of Defense as the Department of War. The president can’t formally change the name without legislation, which his administration would request from Congress. In the meantime, Trump will authorize the Pentagon to use “secondary titles” so the department can go by its original name. The Washington Post reported Thursday that Trump believes the name change more accurately reflects the mission of the men and women serving in uniform today. Congress established the agency to be led by a secretary of war. The bill was signed into law by President George Washington. Following World War II, the War Department was temporarily renamed the National Military Establishment. A 1949 amendment renamed the agency once again to its current name, the Department of Defense.

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

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