HII acquires new manufacturing capacity for AUKUS work
The new HII manufacturing plant in South Carolina. (Photo: HII)
An existing facility in South Carolina will be turned over to work on AUKUS elements, as well as other US Navy projects.
Huntingdon Ingalls Industries (HII) has announced its acquisition of W International, a South Carolina-based complex metal fabricator that has traditionally specialised in the manufacture of shipbuilding structures, modules and assemblies.
When the dust of the acquisition settles, the W International manufacturing facility in Goose Creek, South Carolina will operate within HII’s Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS) division.
It will support the construction of nuclear-powered submarine and aircraft carrier modules and structures for US Navy programmes.
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HII president and CEO Chris Kastner said the company was committed to increasing build rates for the US Navy, and that the new investment in capacity would help it achieve that.
“It lets us efficiently add trained talent and state-of-the-art manufacturing capabilities to the urgent job of building ships, making it a unique opportunity to accelerate throughput at Newport News Shipbuilding in support of the Navy and AUKUS,” Kastner explained.
The W International assets include advanced production facilities, equipment, tooling and infrastructure used to fabricate complex metal modules and structures, all set on a 45-acre site with more than 480,000 square feet of manufacturing space.
The facility in Goose Creek will be known as Newport News Shipbuilding - Charleston Operations.
NNS is one of only two shipyards in the US capable of designing and building nuclear‐powered submarines. The AUKUS SSN programme is a tripartite endeavour, with UK submarines being built at BAE Systems’ Barrow shipyard, and Australian boats being built in Adelaide.
The UK and Australia will build their AUKUS SSNs on a common design, the successor to the current UK Astute class. The AUKUS SSN is expected to share significant design and capability elements with the new Dreadnought-class submarines.
The W International transaction, for which HII has not yet released a cost, is expected to close in Q4 2024.
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