On January 28, 2026, Huntington Ingalls Industries’ Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS) division celebrated 140 years since its founding by Collis P. Huntington in 1886. Originally chartered as Chesapeake Dry Dock and Construction Co., the yard delivered its first vessel, the tugboat Dorothy, within a few years. Over fourteen decades, NNS has produced more than 800 commercial and military vessels, including the U.S. Navy’s nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and submarines. Spanning 550 acres along two miles of the James River, the yard employs 26,000 shipbuilders—making it Virginia’s largest industrial employer—and operates additional facilities in Norfolk, Virginia, and Goose Creek, South Carolina. Today, NNS remains integral to U.S. naval readiness as HII’s flagship shipbuilding operation.