Huntington Ingalls acquires maker of unmanned underwater vehicles

Newport News-based Huntington Ingalls Industries has acquired the Engineering Solutions Division (EDS) of The Columbia Group.
Financial details of the deal were not disclosed.

Panama City Beach, Fla –based ESD designs and builds unmanned underwater vehicles. It employs about 30 engineers, analysts, craftsmen and technicians.

The company’s primary customer is the U.S. Navy, but HII noted that it also builds specialized manned and unmanned undersea vehicles for other military customers around the world.

“ESD's experience in designing and developing manned and unmanned submersibles is a natural extension of the submarine work we do at Newport News Shipbuilding,” Matt Mulherin, HII corporate vice president and the president of Newport News Shipbuilding president, said in a statement. “We believe the combination of Newport News and ESD expertise will enable us to compete successfully in the unmanned underwater vehicle market, and we are excited to welcome ESD to our team.”

EDS has built or converted specialized craft for a variety of purposes, including support of submersibles and submarines, special warfare, testing of mine warfare systems, torpedo countermeasures and other missions.

The company will operate as Undersea Solutions Group, a subsidiary of HII, and will report to Newport News Shipbuilding's Submarine and Fleet Support division.

Huntington Ingalls Industries is the largest military shipbuilding company in the U.S., employing about 39,000 people in the U.S. and overseas. Newport News Shipbuilding is the largest industrial employer in Virginia.