Photo caption: Wasp-class amphibious assault ship USS Essex (LHD 2) participates in a group sail July 22, 2026, in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Hawaii during Exercise Rim of the Pacific 2026. USS Essex was built by HII’s Ingalls Shipbuilding division. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Aaron Haro Gonzalez)
July 24, 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.
Chris Kastner Spotlights HII’s Role In Strengthening America’s Defense Industry Base: Bloomberg TV aired an interview with HII CEO Chris Kastner during its July 18 “Wall Street Week” program in which the main topic was HII’s role in building the U.S. Navy’s future fleet as the country strengthens its defense industrial base. Kastner sat down with Bloomberg correspondent Scarlet Fu during her visit to HII’s Ingalls Shipbuilding division to discuss the state of U.S. shipbuilding, domestic manufacturing, and HII’s continued transformation. The segment also highlights the workforce training underway at the Ingalls Maritime Training Academy, where the company provides apprenticeship programs across multiple shipbuilding and maritime trade disciplines. Watch the segment here, on HII.com.
House Passes $1.15 Trillion Budget: The Washington Post reported on Wednesday that the House passed its $1.15 trillion defense policy bill. The Hill reported on Wednesday that the bill greenlights more than $60 billion in funding for construction and support of a fourth Columbia-class ballistic missile submarine, two Virginia-class submarines and two Arleigh-Burke class destroyers. The bill also codifies a number of Trump administration executive orders, including building the Golden Dome. Inside Defense reported on Wednesday that House lawmakers have approved an amendment adding portions of the previously stalled SHIPS Act proposal to their draft defense policy bill. The Shipbuilding and Harbor Infrastructure for Prosperity and Security (SHIPS) for America Act is a wide-ranging proposal intended to bolster commercial shipping and boost both commercial and military ship construction within the United States. The House’s defense policy bill, which passed 216 to 212, still las a steep path to climb before it reaches the White House. The Senate’s version of the defense policy bill has stalled as Democrats argue with the rising costs of the conflict with Iran. Without a deal that can clear the Senate’s 60-vote threshold, Republican leadership may skip a separate vote in the Senate and begin negotiating a final version of the NDAA for passage later in the fall.
Navy Awards $1.8 Billion Contract For Shipboard Radar Production: Inside Defense reported on Wednesday that The Navy has awarded RTX subsidiary Raytheon $1.8 billion to expand its next-generation ship radar production. The contract comes as the service is pushing to field the sensor across a wider swath of the surface fleet, including planning a first-time installation aboard the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) in fiscal year 2027. The SPY-6 family is built around a Radar Modular Assembly, a two-foot cube that can be stacked in different configurations to fit the needs of different ship classes. The AN/SPY-6(V)1, the largest variant, uses 37 of the modules and is installed on Flight III Arleigh Burke-class destroyers. The AN/SPY-6(V)2, using nine modules, is going on Nimitz-class carriers, America-class amphibious assault ships and San Antonio-class landing platform docks. The AN/SPY-6(V)3, also built from nine modules, is installed on Ford-class carriers. The AN/SPY-6(V)4, using 24 modules, is being backfit onto Flight IIA destroyers. Executive Biz reported on Wednesday that the extension is valued at $1.81 billion and is expected to be completed by July 2031. Should all options be exercised, the contract value would rise to $3.39 billion and the period of performance would extend to October 2031.
| Social Media Highlight Of The Week
Posted Wednesday Mission Technologies’ LinkedIn page: “Celebrating our H&B Defence team for being honored with the AUKUS Partnership Award at the 2026 Australian Defence Industry Awards for the Australian Submarine Supplier Qualification (AUSSQ) Pilot Program. As the program’s prime contractor through HII Australia, we are proud to support this important initiative, which is helping qualify Australian suppliers to participate in the United States and United Kingdom nuclear submarine supply chains under AUKUS Pillar I. This achievement underscores the strong collaboration between HII and Babcock through H&B Defence and reflects the dedication of the AUSSQ team in advancing Australia’s sovereign industrial capability while strengthening cooperation among AUKUS partners. Our sincere congratulations to everyone whose commitment and expertise made this accomplishment possible.” |
Navy Advances Puget Sound Shipyard Improvements: Stars and Stripes reported on Tuesday that the U.S. Navy is advancing plans to build a potential $30 billion “mega-construction project” at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard that includes a new, larger dry dock capable of servicing the fleet’s aircraft carriers. The new dry dock at Puget Sound, in Washington state, would be able to service Gerald R. Ford-class and Nimitz-class nuclear-powered aircraft carriers. It would also be used for work on submarines and other surface vessels. Military Times reported on Wednesday that the Navy does not currently have the capacity and capability to perform depot-level maintenance on Ford-class carriers in the Pacific Northwest. John F. Kennedy (CVN 79), which is currently under construction at HII’s Newport News Shipbuilding division, is expected to be homeported at the nearby Naval Base Kitsap in 2029. The Puget Sound Naval Shipyard project is one of the central efforts of the Navy’s Shipyard Infrastructure Optimization Program to modernize the four public shipyards that still have some infrastructure dating to World War II and earlier.
New Navy PAE Maritime Shipbuilding Office Reaches Operating Capability: USNI News reported on Monday that the new organization that will oversee surface shipbuilding for the U.S. Navy and one Coast Guard program has reached its initial operational capability overseeing major surface ship and aircraft carrier construction. Portfolio Acquisition Executive Maritime, led by civilian Chris Miller, will encompass amphibious warship construction, aircraft carriers, surface combatants, auxiliaries and ship readiness and sustainment with five deputy PAEs reporting to Miller. In turn, the head of PAE Maritime will report to the Assistant Secretary of the Navy Research, Development & Acquisition (RDA). The new PAE will also oversee three Supervisor of Shipbuilding offices at destroyer builder General Dynamics Bath Iron Works, Gulf Coast shipyards centered on amphibs and HII’s Ingalls Shipbuilding division and HII’s Newport News Shipbuilding division.
The five deputy PAEs are:
- Carriers: Led by Rear Adm. Casey Moten and acting civilian Nick Baumgardner includes new carrier construction, carriers in service and carrier inactivation.
- Combatants: Led by Rear Adm. Brian Metcalf and acting Lou Detrisac oversees new construction of guided-missile destroyers, the proposed FF(X) patrol frigate, the guided-missile BBG(X) battleship and the multi-mission surface combatant for the Royal Saudi Navy.
- Expeditionary and Mine Warfare: Led in acting capacity by Melissa Kirkendall and Sam Taylor that includes new and in-service amphibious warships, amphibious connectors like the ship to shore connector, in-service littoral combat ships, mine warfare and other expeditionary systems.
- Auxiliaries: Led in an acting capacity by Capt. Cedric McNeal covers oilers, dry cargo ships, special mission ships and the U.S. Coast Guard polar security cutter program.
- Ship Readiness: Led by Rear Adm. Andy Biehn and civilian Lisa Bonacic-Doric includes maintenance for small and combatants, the Arleigh Burke-class DDG 2.0 modification, training systems and international support in addition to the other missions.
HII’s Weekly News Digest is produced by HII’s Corporate Communications team and posted to MyHII every Friday.
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