HII’s Newport News Shipbuilding division is marking 140 years of service to the US today, January 28, 2026.On Jan. 28, 1886, Collis P. Huntington, a businessman whose investments enabled completion of the U.S. transcontinental railroad, turned his focus to shipbuilding, establishing what was first chartered as Chesapeake Dry Dock and Construction Co.
The military and Coast Guard budgets are established that will benefit the U.S. ship building and repair sector, but what will stimulate the commercial yards?This author has been scratching his head of late, after a thrilling dive into July’s U.S. Big Beautiful Bill Act, and has asked several colleagues where the funding for support commercial shipbuilding can be found? To answer that
[The following are exerpts and paraphrasing from testimony given by Matthew O. Paxton, President of the Shipbuilders Council of America (SCA), to Congress on the morning of February 26, 2025.]While maritime strength and shipbuilding historically have been a cornerstone of global power, shifting times and geopolitical pressures impact readiness and output.
Manson Construction has long been a pillar of the U.S. maritime industry, rooted in a tradition of U.S.-built, U.S.-owned, and U.S.-operated vessels. The company was founded in 1905 by Peter Manson, when he dug up a jar of gold coins [because he didn’t trust the banks] and purchased a winch, a winch that was then put on a barge and that became Manson's first pile driver.
HII announced that its Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS) division has successfully completed builder’s sea trials of John F. Kennedy (CVN 79), the second Gerald R. Ford-class nuclear-powered aircraft carrier.Kennedy returned to NNS after testing important ship systems and components at sea for the first time.The sea trials brought together NNS shipbuilders, John F.
HII announced that its Newport News Shipbuilding division has reached a significant construction milestone for Virginia-class submarine Oklahoma (SSN 802).Oklahoma is now “pressure hull complete,” which signifies all of the hull sections have joined to form a single, watertight unit.It is the 29th Virginia-class fast attack submarine, the first of Block V and the 14th to be delivered by NNS.
At the Indo Pacific International Maritime Exposition in Sydney, HII announced the addition of Westley Group, a leading United Kingdom-based manufacturer of high-integrity metal castings, as a strategic supplier supporting the U.S. Navy’s submarine industrial base.This milestone marks another step forward in advancing allied defense collaboration under the AUKUS trilateral partnership between
A joint team from HII, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), and the U.S. Navy’s Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division Newport (NUWC Division Newport) has successfully completed the first recovery of a second-generation REMUS 620 into a Virginia-class submarine torpedo tube and shutterway test fixture at Seneca Lake, New York.
HII announced that Roger Kelly has been promoted to vice president of contracts and pricing at its Newport News Shipbuilding division. Kelly succeeds Matt Mulherin Jr., who has been appointed vice president of supply chain and strategic sourcing at NNS.Kelly will have overall responsibility for contracts, pricing, and export/import licensing and compliance for NNS.
The U.S. Navy’s Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC) Division Newport has honored 42 students who completed its Academic Degree Training Program (ADTP), earning degrees in engineering, cybersecurity and other technical fields.Since the inception of ADTP in 2018, Division Newport has seen a total of 315 graduates in the program which offers financial and other support.
American Cruise Lines christened American Patriot in Newport, Rhode Island last week—celebrating the holiday and simultaneously marking the countdown to the country’s 250th birthday on July 4, 2026. American Patriot is the first ship in the company’s new Patriot Class—a fleet of new 130-passenger ships designed for exclusively cruising the U.S.A.
Stephen O’Grady, of East Providence, Rhode Island, has been selected as the next deputy technical director for technical excellence at the Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC) Division Newport.Formerly the director of technology and strategy for the Undersea Warfare (USW) Combat Systems Department, O’Grady spearheaded the organization’s product vision.