Inside South Carolina operations of the largest military shipbuilder in the US
A new division of the largest military shipbuilder in the U.S. is in full swing after establishing operations in South Carolina just two months ago. Newport News Shipbuilding-Charleston Operations, a facility in a division of Virginia-based Huntington Ingalls Industries, better known as HII, began in Goose Creek roughly 60 days ago. In two days, the […]
HII installs 3D printed valve manifold assembly on aircraft carrier
Huntington Ingalls Industries announced Tuesday that it has successfully used additive manufacturing for the first time to build a valve manifold assembly for a new construction aircraft carrier at HII‘s Newport News Shipbuilding subsidiary. NNS says it is integrating additive manufacturing, also known as 3D printing, into the shipbuilding process and is pursuing all opportunities […]
Retired Newport News Shipbuilding prez joins Armada Hoffler board
Virginia Beach-based real estate investment trust Armada Hoffler announced Monday that it has appointed former Newport News Shipbuilding President Jennifer Boykin to the company’s board of directors. “We are excited to welcome Mrs. Boykin to our board of directors,” Armada Hoffler President and CEO Shawn Tibbetts said in a statement. “Her extensive leadership experience and […]
HII’s CEO doesn’t expect major defense spending cuts under Trump
President Donald Trump’s suggestion last week that he could cut U.S. defense spending in half spooked the stock market — but the CEOs of Virginia’s Huntington Ingalls Industries and Science Applications International Corp. are taking Trump’s statement in stride. Thursday afternoon, Trump said, “One of the first meetings I want to have is with President […]
The 2025 Virginia Black Business Leaders Awards: The Achievers
Black business leaders have played a pivotal role in shaping modern Virginia’s economic and cultural landscapes and driving progress across industries and communities. From the entrepreneurial spirit of pioneers who built thriving enterprises during times of immense adversity amid segregation and civil rights battles to today’s leaders breaking boardroom barriers, their stories are a t[...]
2025 Virginia Black Business Leaders Awards: Xavier Beale
Beale was promoted to his current position, overseeing the state’s largest industrial employer’s HR and trades department, in 2022. He is a second-generation shipbuilder and joined HII as a pipefitter in 1991, before working in other industries. In 2004, he returned to the shipyard and is vice chair of the Virginia Board of Workforce Development. […]
HII closes on South Carolina plant acquisition
Newport News-based Huntington Ingalls Industries announced Monday it has closed on its purchase of a metal fabrication manufacturing facility in South Carolina, which will now be part of its subsidiary Newport News Shipbuilding. The company did not disclose financial terms. In December 2024, HII said it had entered into a definitive agreement to acquire substantially all […]
Community colleges accomplish much on shoestring budgets
A flat tire can mean different things to different people. Maybe it’s a postponed appointment and a call to AAA. Or maybe you have to get a ride to work from your spouse. But for some folks, a flat tire can start a snowball effect. “For so many, that flat tire, that’s the end, right? It […]
NNS aims to grow workforce
Virginia’s largest industrial employer, Newport News Shipbuilding, hopes to grow its 26,000-person workforce by 3,000 this year to tackle its backlog of projects. NNS, a division of Huntington Ingalls Industries, is building modular components for 12 Columbia-class subs and then handing them off to partner General Dynamics’ Connecticut-based Electric Boat, and the two companies have [&[...]
Subs going Down Under
A 2021 agreement between Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States should reap benefits in Hampton Roads soon. Dubbed AUKUS for the three participating nations, the international agreement calls for the U.S. and the U.K. to share nuclear propulsion technology with Australia, with the Royal Australian Navy set to acquire at least eight nuclear-powered […]
Riding the silver tsunami
As a registered nurse unit coordinator and charge nurse at Sentara CarePlex Hospital in Hampton, Andrea Samuel spends her days communicating with doctors and nurses in addition to administering direct bedside care. A Miami native, Samuel entered nursing school at age 19 and has worked for Sentara since 1991. She celebrated her 78th birthday in […]
Newport News Shipbuilding expands to Norfolk
With the largest workload it’s had in four decades, Newport News Shipbuilding has had to get creative about how to use the limited footprint at its shipyard in Newport News. So when an opportunity to set up a second campus not far away — on the other side of the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel, in Norfolk […]