Ingalls to research welding improvements

Huntington Ingalls Industries' Pascagoula, Miss., shipyard won a $2.7 million grant for a project to improve shipyard welding. Ingalls was one of six shipyards sharing about $14.6 million in project grants from the National Shipbuilding Research Program. Funding is from the U.S. Navy and industry groups. The idea is to develop a process to eliminate over-welding to reduce distortion. (Source: Mobile Press-Register, 05/09/11)

Army transfers JHSVs to Navy

The Army has transferred to the Navy all five of its Joint High Speed Vessels. The Memorandum of Agreement was signed May 2, and clarifies relationships, identifies roles and responsibilities and provides an implementation plan. Initially the JHSV program was envisioned to have five of the first 10 JHSVs assigned to the Army, with the Navy getting the rest. But at the Army/Navy Warfighter Talks in December 2010, both services agreed to assign all of the vessels to the Navy. The Military Sealift Command will crew the JHSVs with civilian mariners or contract mariners. Joint High Speed Vessels will be used for fast transport of troops, military vehicles and equipment. (Source: NNS, 05/05/11) Gulf Coast note: The catamaran ships are built by Austal USA in Mobile, Ala.

BAE to showcase ship repair

HOUSTON - BAE Systems will showcase its ship repair capabilities at the 2011 Offshore Technology Conference May 2-5 in Houston. With more than 5,000 workers, BAE Systems does drydock and pierside repairs and in maintenance, overhaul and conversion of commercial and military vessels. It has six full-service shipyards, including the 423-acre site in Mobile, Ala., and a satellite ship repair facility in Moss Point, Miss. (Source: Business Wire, 04/28/11)

Huntington Ingalls names shipyard chiefs

PASCAGOULA, Miss. - Huntington Ingalls Industries Inc., owner of Pascagoula’s 10,800-employee shipyard, said its board of directors approved Irwin F. Edenzon and Matthew J. Mulherin as corporate vice presidents and presidents of the company’s two major shipyards. Edenzon was named president of Ingalls Shipbuilding and Mulherin became president of Newport News Shipbuilding in Virginia. HII, previously the shipbuilding division of Northrop Grumman Corp., began operating on March 31 as an independent, publicly traded company. (Source: Mississippi Press, 04/26/11)

BAE to provide LCS guns, coms

BAE Systems will provide the external communications and primary gun systems for 10 littoral combat ships to be built by Austal USA of Mobile, Ala. BAE, which runs a shipyard in Mobile, will build the 57-mm gun systems used to defend against aerial, surface or ground threats. BAE will also be building radio and antenna systems and other types of specialized equipment and hardware for ship communications. The work will be done at BAE facilities in California, Maryland, Kentucky, Minnesota and Sweden. (Source: Mobile Press-Register, 04/15/11) Gulf Coast note: BAE Systems also has operations in Gautier, Miss., and Fort Walton Beach, Fla.

BAE eyes more workers

MOBILE, Ala. - The Mobile facility of BAE Systems Southeast Shipyards will add up to 400 workers to finish building an oil tanker, a company official said. The shipyard on the east bank of Mobile River has 600 workers and another 200 to 250 contractors. The extra workforce is needed to finish a tanker for Mid-Ocean Tanker Co. LLC of South Norwalk, Conn. (Source: Mobile Press-Register, 04/07/11)

More ship contracts being negotiated

PASCAGOULA, Miss. - Huntington Ingalls Industries CEO Mike Petters told Jackson County leaders today that Friday's $1.5 billion ship contract is just the first of five the company is negotiating with the Navy over the next two years. HII separated from Northrop Grumman March 31 and now trades on the New York Stock Exchange. (Source: Sun Herald, 04/05/11)

Contract: Huntington Ingalls, $1.5B

Huntington Ingalls Industries Inc. of Pascagoula, Miss., a wholly owned subsidiary of Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding, is being awarded a $1,496,200,000 fixed-price-incentive modification to previously awarded contract for the procurement of the detail design and construction of LPD 26, the future USS John P. Murtha, 10th ship in the LPD 17 amphibious transport dock ship class. Work will be performed in Pascagoula, (82 percent); Crozet, Va. (4 percent); Beloit, Wis. (2 percent); and New Orleans, La. (1 percent). Other efforts will be performed at various sites throughout the United States (11 percent). Work is expected to be completed by February 2016. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 04/01/11)

Austal breaks ground on expansion

MOBILE, Ala. - Austal USA broke ground Thursday on a $116 million project to build three new facilities at its Mobile River complex. The construction should be finished within 15 months. It will allow the shipbuilder to hire another 2,000 workers and complete contracts to build joint high-speed vessels and littoral combat ships. Austal employs about 2,000 people in Mobile. (Source: Mobile Press-Register, 03/31/11)

Contract: Northrop Grumman, $28.7M

Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding Inc., Pascagoula, Miss., is being awarded a $28,734,634 modification on a not-to-exceed basis to previously awarded contract for the procurement of additional long lead time material in support of the LHA replacement flight 0 amphibious assault ship. Work will be performed in Philadelphia, Pa. (79.9 percent), and Pascagoula, Miss. (20.1 percent) and is expected to be completed by March 2014. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 03/30/11)

Contract: Lockheed Martin $12M

Lockheed Martin Mission Systems and Sensors, Moorestown, N.J., is being awarded a $12,019,446 option exercise modification to previously awarded contract for management and engineering services to maintain and modify as necessary the design of DDG 51 class combat system compartments and topside arrangements, in support of the Program Executive Officer Integrated Warfare Systems. Work will be performed in Moorestown, N.J. (37 percent); Bath, Maine (25 percent); Pascagoula, Miss. (22 percent); San Diego, Calif. (6 percent); Washington, D.C. (5 percent); Norfolk, Va. (3 percent); Port Hueneme, Calif. (1 percent); and Syracuse, N.Y. (1 percent). Work is expected to be completed by September 2011. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 03/30/11)

LCS to be named Jackson, Montgomery

MOBILE, Ala. - Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus said today that the next two Freedom-class littoral combat ships to be built in Alabama by Austal USA will be named the USS Jackson and the USS Montgomery. The two ships are part of a dual block buy of LCS class ships announced by Mabus in December 2010. The selection of Jackson, designated LCS 6, honors the state capitol in Mississippi and is the first ship to bear the city's name. The selection of Montgomery, the capitol of Alabama, designated LCS 8, honors Alabama's capital. This is the second ship to bear the city's name. (Source: DoD, 03/25/11)

Mabus to visit Austal

MOBILE, Ala. - Navy Secretary Ray Mabus will be at Austal USA's shipyard in Mobile Friday to make an announcement about the littoral combat ship program. The Navy last year awarded Austal and Lockheed Martin 10-vessel contracts to build littoral combat ships, which are designed to fight in coastal waters. (Source: Mobile Press-Register, 03/23/11)

Ship christening set for Saturday

PASCAGOULA, Miss. - An amphibious transport dock ship, Arlington, will be christened Saturday at a ceremony at Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding's Pascagoula yard. LPD 24 is named for Arlington County, Va., where an airliner crashed into the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001. The 684-foot Arlington is one of three Navy ships to honor the heroes and victims of the terrorist attacks. USS New York has been delivered to the Navy and USS Somerset, named for the county in Pennsylvania where another airliner crashed on 9/11, is under construction in Avondale, La. (Source: Mississippi Press, 03/22/11)

Contract: Swiftships, $42.1M

Swiftships Shipbuilders LLC, Morgan City, La., is being awarded a $42,181,000 modification to previously awarded contract for the detail design and construction of three 35-meter patrol boats, with an option for three additional 35-meter patrol boats and associated technical services for the Iraqi navy. This contract modification includes options which would bring the value to $83,479,000. Work will be performed in Morgan City, La. (60 percent); Detroit, Mich. (30 percent); Ocean Springs, Miss. (8 percent); and Charlottesville, Va. (2 percent), and is expected to be completed by August 2012. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 03/21/11)

Navy gives nod to spinoff

The Navy said it's now in a position to support Northrop Grumman's spin-off of its shipbuilding business. The Navy finds Huntington Ingalls Industries Inc. responsible for award of amphibious transport dock ship LPD 26 and guided missile destroyer DDG 113, both contracts currently under negotiation. The Navy's concern with HII's credit rating, driven by its initial debt, has been offset by Northrop Grumman's agreement to relieve HII of first quarter 2011 debts and to provide a starting cash balance of $300 million. (Source: DoD, 03/17/11, Mississippi Press, 03/18/11)

Contract: Austal, $368.6M

Austal USA, Mobile, Ala., is being awarded a $368,592,125 modification to previously awarded contract to contractually authorize fiscal 2011 Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) construction. Fifty-one percent of the work will be done in Mobile and two percent in New Orleans. Other work will be done in Pittsfield, Mass., Cincinnati, Ohio, Baltimore, Md., Burlington, Vt., and various other locations. Work is expected to be complete by October 2015. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 03/17/11)

Contract: Austal, $19.7M

Austal USA, Mobile, Ala., is being awarded a $19,665,646 modification to previously awarded contract to exercise options for special studies, analyses, review and class- service efforts for the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) program. Austal USA will assess engineering and production challenges and evaluate the cost and schedule risks from affordability efforts to reduce LCS acquisition and lifecycle costs. Work will be performed in Mobile, Ala. (83 percent), and Pittsfield, Mass. (17 percent). Work is expected to be completed by March 2012. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 03/15/11)

NG board OKs spinoff

Northrop Grumman's board of directors has approved the spin-off of a wholly owned subsidiary, Huntington Ingalls Industries. Northrop Grumman stockholders will get one share of the shipping business for every six shares of Northrop Grumman stock they hold on March 30. Shares of the shipbuilding business will trade under the symbol "HII." When Northrop said in July it would explore strategic alternatives for the unit, it also announced plans to close its Avondale facility in Louisiana and consolidation of that yard's work in Pascagoula, Miss. (Source: Mississippi Press, 03/15/11)

Contract: Arete Associates, $26.4M

Arete Associates, Tucson, Ariz., is being awarded a $26,400,000 firm-fixed-price letter contract for the engineering, manufacturing, production and delivery of three Coastal Battlefield Reconnaissance and Analysis (COBRA) AN/DVS-1 low rate initial production Block 1 systems as part of the Mine Warfare Mission Package onboard the littoral combat ship. As a result of this Small Business Innovative Research Phase III award, the COBRA system will have the software that satisfies the performance requirements, the mine counter measure, intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance, and tactical littoral sensor modes installed. Work will be performed in Tucson, Ariz., and is expected to be completed by March 2013. The Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City Division, Panama City Beach, Fla., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 03/04/11) Note: Littoral Combat Ships are built in Mobile, Ala.