US shipbuilder Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) is partnering with shipyards and fabricators in multiple states to grow its throughput and meet the increased demand for ships from the US Navy.
The company stated it is outsourcing more work to expand the US shipbuilding industrial base and improve schedule adherence for the ships it builds.
HII’s structural assembly network has grown to 23 companies. For its Newport News Shipbuilding division in Virginia, the company has acquired a manufacturing facility in South Carolina, now known as Charleston Operations, to produce completed submarine modules and aircraft carrier units.
HII has also identified other partners to build certain structural assemblies for future submarines and carriers.
For its Ingalls Shipbuilding division in Mississippi, select outfitted structural units for Arleigh Burke-class destroyers are being constructed at partner locations and will be delivered to Ingalls for final integration. The initial phases of this work are already underway with six shipbuilding partners in multiple states.
Chris Kastner, HII's CEO, stated that the company has already doubled its outsourced hours in 2025 and is on track to quadruple them over a two-year period.
In addition to its domestic partnerships, HII said it is also exploring international opportunities and has created partnerships with Hyundai Heavy Industries and Babcock International Group to enhance throughput.
