HII announces more than $1.8B in contracts

Newport News-based Huntington Ingalls Industries Inc. on Tuesday announced more than $1.8 billion in contracts awarded to its mission technologies and shipbuilding divisions.

The company’s McLean-based Mission Technologies was awarded a $1.3 billion U.S. African Command Personnel Recovery Enterprise Services and Solutions (PRESS) task order, which has a one-year base period with up to six one-year options. The task order was issued by the General Services Administration’s Federal Systems Integration and Management Center. Under the order, HII will provide a large-scale network of medical, rotary and fixed-wing solutions to support AFRICOM’s Warfighter Recovery Network.

Since 2021, HII has supported 91 casualty evacuation missions across East Africa area of operations under a personnel recovery and casualty evacuation services task order, the company said in a news release. HII’s work is expected to improve evacuation response and transport timelines and maximize survival rates for personnel operating in the AFRICOM area of responsibility.

AFRICOM is one of 11 united combatant commands under the U.S. Department of Defense. Headquartered in Germany, the region includes 53 African states.

“The PRESS mission goes hand-in-hand with HII’s mission to support and deliver all-domain solutions that create the advantage for the Combatant Commands in their mission to protect our national security around the world,” Mission Technologies President Andy Green said in a statement. “We are proud to partner with USAFRICOM to provide life-saving operations to the women and men who serve our nation.”

Also on Tuesday, HII announced that its Newport News Shipbuilding division received a $567.6 million subcontract modification from General Dynamics Corp.’s Groton, Connecticut-based Electric Boat Corp. to provide long-lead material and advance construction activities for Columbia-class ballistic missile submarines.

HII is currently under contract for construction of submarine modules for Build I, the first two submarines in the class: the future USS District of Columbia and USS Wisconsin. The advance procurement funds from the subcontract modification, awarded April 4, will allow the shipbuilder to purchase major components and commodity material and to begin advance construction on Build II, the next five submarines in the class.

“This contract modification underscores the critical manufacturing work our shipbuilders do for the U.S. Navy, as major contributors to the Columbia-class,” said Brandi Smith, the shipbuilder’s vice president for Columbia-class construction. “When delivered to the fleet, these submarines and their crews will protect peace and freedom around the world, in service of the nation. Our shipbuilders understand the responsibility, commitment and discipline required of them each day, and take great pride in supporting this mission.”

The Navy has designated the Columbia class its top acquisition priority. It will replace the service’s aging fleet of Ohio-class ballistic missile submarines.

Electric Boat, a subsidiary of Reston-based Fortune 500 contractor General Dynamics, is currently building the future USS District of Columbia and USS Wisconsin. Electric Boat expects to deliver the lead Columbia-class submarine to the Navy in 2027. At 560 feet long, the submarines are the largest ever built in the U.S. and will have a fuel core that will power them for their entire lifecycle, eliminating a need for midlife refueling. General Dynamics in 2019 won the largest Navy contract ever awarded for the Virginia-class nuclear-powered, fast-attack submarine.

NNS is a major shipbuilding partner in the Columbia-class program, constructing and delivering six module sections per submarine under contract to General Dynamics Electric Boat.