On January 22, 2026, HII marked the first anniversary of its Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS) Charleston Operations facility in Goose Creek, South Carolina. Since acquiring the 45-acre asset in January 2025, the site has delivered its inaugural shipbuilding unit in just 40 days and surpassed its 2025 production targets. The facility features more than 480,000 square feet of covered manufacturing space with barge and rail access, positioning it at the heart of South Carolina’s expanding maritime ecosystem and enabling HII to leverage regional skilled-trade labor as part of its distributed shipbuilding strategy.

Rear Admiral Jonathan Rucker, program executive officer for attack submarines, commended the Charleston team for their role in HII’s plan to increase submarine and carrier throughput through distributed shipbuilding. In addition to the Goose Creek operations, HII has partnered with 23 external shipyards and fabricators across the U.S., and is exploring international collaborations and a potential new domestic shipyard to meet escalating demand. This networked approach underpins HII’s ability to scale capacity rapidly, supporting the Navy’s accelerated procurement schedules and reducing production bottlenecks.

HII recently secured a position on the Pentagon’s shortlist for a major shipbuilding program valued at approximately $25 billion over its lifecycle. This shortlist spot underscores HII’s leadership in delivering nuclear-powered attack submarines and aircraft carriers, drawing on its 140-year heritage and extensive in-house expertise in design, production and systems integration. The potential contract award is expected to span multiple fiscal years and will leverage HII’s combined resources across Virginia and South Carolina facilities to meet rigorous program milestones.