Huntington Ingalls Industries Awarded Contract For Construction of Virginia-Class Block V Submarines
NEWPORT NEWS, Va., Dec. 02, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE: HII) announced today that its Newport News Shipbuilding division and teaming partner General Dynamics Electric Boat has been awarded a $22 billion contract to build nine Virginia-class submarines for the U.S. Navy.
The Block V contract allows Newport News and Electric Boat to continue the modernization of the fleet of nuclear-powered fast-attack submarines over a five year period, with construction starting in 2019 and deliveries scheduled from 2025 through 2029.Newport News will serve as the delivery yard for five of the planned submarines.
Under the contract, eight of the nine boats will be built with the Virginia Payload Module (VPM), an 84-foot section that provides more than three times the missile strike capacity of the current Virginia-class submarines. The contract also includes an option for a 10th boat with VPM.“Today’s contract maintains the Virginia-class build rate that provides continued stability to our workforce and to the 5,000 suppliers that will support submarines for the next decade,” said Dave Bolcar, Newport News’ vice president of submarine construction. “This contract also continues the two per year construction cadence essential to sustaining production efficiencies, while ensuring our national security and the Navy’s continued undersea superiority.”Newport News and its teaming partner Electric Boat have built and delivered 18 Virginia-class submarines; 10 Block IV boats are currently under construction.Virginia-class submarines, which are being built to replace the Los Angeles-class submarines as they are retired, incorporate dozens of new technologies and innovations that increase firepower, maneuverability and stealth, and significantly enhance their warfighting capabilities. These submarines are capable of supporting multiple mission packages and can operate at submerged speeds of more than 25 knots for months at a time.VPM will provide the Navy with undersea strike capability that currently resides with Ohio-class guided-missile submarines, and the flexibility to host a variety of payloads.Huntington Ingalls Industries is America’s largest military shipbuilding company and a provider of professional services to partners in government and industry. For more than a century, HII’s Newport News and Ingalls shipbuilding divisions in Virginia and Mississippi have built more ships in more ship classes than any other U.S. naval shipbuilder. HII’s Technical Solutions division provides a wide range of professional services through its Fleet Support, Mission Driven Innovative Solutions, Nuclear & Environmental, and Oil & Gas groups. Headquartered in Newport News, Virginia, HII employs more than 41,000 people operating both domestically and internationally. For more information, visit:HII on the web: www.huntingtoningalls.comHII on Facebook: www.facebook.com/HuntingtonIngallsIndustriesHII on Twitter: twitter.com/hiindustriesStatements in this release, as well as other statements we may make from time to time, other than statements of historical fact, constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those expressed in these statements. Factors that may cause such differences include: changes in government and customer priorities and requirements (including government budgetary constraints, shifts in defense spending, and changes in customer short-range and long-range plans); our ability to estimate our future contract costs and perform our contracts effectively; changes in procurement processes and government regulations and our ability to comply with such requirements; our ability to deliver our products and services at an affordable life cycle cost and compete within our markets; natural and environmental disasters and political instability; our ability to execute our strategic plan, including with respect to share repurchases, dividends, capital expenditures, and strategic acquisitions; adverse economic conditions in the United States and globally; changes in key estimates and assumptions regarding our pension and retiree health care costs; security threats, including cyber security threats, and related disruptions; and other risk factors discussed in our filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. There may be other risks and uncertainties that we are unable to predict at this time or that we currently do not expect to have a material adverse effect on our business, and we undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements. You should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements that we may make.
Contact:Duane Bourne
Duane.A.Bourne@HII-co.com
(757) 380-3581