HII outlines shipbuilding capacity expansion as Secretary of War Pete Hegseth visits Newport News

He also underlined the link between shipbuilding and operational readiness, telling workers: “There is an unbreakable line tying the wrench in your hand to the safety and survival of a 22-year-old American sailor patrolling the depths of the Pacific.” Hegseth added that, “The quality of your work, your unwavering commitment to excellence, your speed, your patriotism itself. You give our warrior the decisive edge.”

HII president and chief executive Chris Kastner said the company has taken concrete steps to raise output, stating: “Speed matters. Over the past year, in partnership with our government customers, we’ve taken steps to measurably increase our hiring, grow our retention, and most importantly, improve proficiency levels within our workforce.” He added that these measures are “yielding a meaningful increase in shipbuilding throughput” as more than 40 ships are under construction or modernisation at Ingalls and Newport News.

Kastner said the focus for 2026 is to build on this momentum, noting: “Every improvement in our operations, every efficiency we unlock, every day we reduce from a schedule translates directly into capability the Navy can deploy to the front line of deterrence and defense, to protect American interests.” HII said it is expanding capacity through a distributed shipbuilding initiative involving 23 external shipyards and fabricators, partnerships with international manufacturers, evaluation of adding another US shipyard, and modified shifts at Newport News to support a 56-hour standard work week in 2025.