The shipbuilding industry has been around since the time of ancient civilizations. Master crafters engineer massive fleets and naval systems for warfighters to defend their territories.
Today, a handful of shipbuilding companies have modernized ancient shipbuilding methods into more cutting-edge techniques; they engineer advanced vessels for defense and offense and for carrying and delivering warfighters or crucial cargo.
In no specific order, here is a rundown of notable shipbuilding companies that secured contracts for building top-caliber fleets for the military in 2023.
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General Dynamics NASSCO
- Revenue: $11 billion (FY 2022)
- Founded/established: 1905; bought by General Dynamics in 1998
- Headquarters: San Diego, California
- Notable vessels: USS Arlington, USNS Lewis, and Clark, and The Independence
General Dynamics Corporation is one of the largest and leading defense solutions companies in the United States. Its subsidiary, the National Steel and Shipbuilding Company (NASSCO), is primarily focused on the design, development, repair and maintenance, and deployment of ships for naval warfare and carrying goods such as fuel and dry cargo.
NASSCO has four shipyards located in San Diego, Norfolk, Bremerton, and Mayport. The San Diego facility is the primary hub for the design and construction of commercial cargo ships and auxiliary ocean carriers for the US Navy and Military Sealift Command. Repairs, maintenance, and conversions are performed in all NASSCO boatyards.
On January 17, 2023, the US Navy granted General Dynamics NASSCO’s Norfolk shipyard a contract for the repair, maintenance, and remodeling of the USS Arlington (LPD 24). The agreement has a base value of $150 billion and entails NASSCO fulfilling selected restricted availability efforts for the amphibious naval vessel in the fiscal year 2023.
HII
- Revenue: $10.7 Billion (FY 2022)
- Founded/established: 1886; as HII in 2022
- Headquarters: Newport News, Virginia
- Notable vessels: Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carriers, Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers, and USS America amphibious assault ships
Huntington and Ingalls were both pioneers in the shipbuilding industry; they built companies that would eventually become major players in the field. One of these is HII Corporate. Formerly known as Huntington Ingalls Industries, HII started out in 2011 as an offshoot of Northrop Grumman’s shipbuilding division. Huntington Ingalls Industries rebranded into HII in April 2022.
Despite being a fairly young enterprise, HII carries over 100 years of shipbuilding prowess, able to manufacture military ships of high caliber. Shipbuilding magnates Collis P. Huntington and Robert I. Ingalls, Sr. have created a legacy that HII Corporate is still now proudly upholding.
HII has two shipbuilding divisions:
- Newport News Shipbuilding – Based in Newport News, Virginia, this division is where the design, repair, overhaul, and refueling of ships are performed. Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS) was founded by Collis P. Huntington in 1886, making it the oldest shipbuilding yard of HII.
- Ingalls Shipbuilding – Based in Pascagoula, Mississippi, this shipyard primarily builds, repairs, and maintains surface combatants, amphibious ships, and class-leading cutters for the US Navy and Coast Guard. Ingalls Shipbuilding division was founded by Robert Ingalls, Sr. in 1938.
HII’s expertise in constructing naval vessels made the company a trusted contractor for the US Navy. On April 3, 2023, the US Navy awarded HII a $1.3 billion modification agreement for the construction of the latest San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock. The contract enables the US Navy and HII to build a line of amphibious ships that are efficient and have formidable capabilities. These ships were made for the Marines to place equipment and troops in strategic locations.
Lockheed Martin
- Revenue: $65.98 billion (FY 2022)
- Founded/established: 1995
- Headquarters: Bethesda, Maryland
- Notable vessels: Freedom-class littoral combat ship and Aegis Combat System
Lockheed Martin Corporation is a noteworthy defense, aerospace, armaments, information security, and technology company, formed through a merger between Lockheed Corporation and Marietta Martin Corporation. The company’s know-how in shipbuilding stems from the Lockheed Shipbuilding and Construction Company, a now-defunct shipyard that built over 100 vessels for combat and carrying cargo, personnel, and vehicles within 30 years.
Lockheed Martin’s shipbuilding division remains to be a force to reckon with when it comes to maritime defense, transporting armaments and vehicles, and overhauling older fleets. In March 2023, the US Navy granted the defense firm a $21 million modification contract to replace the main propulsion diesel engine of the USS Wichita, one of Lockheed Martin’s littoral combat ship units.
Littoral Combat Ships (LCS) are engineered to carry Navy and Marine troops to defend the nation from seaside threats. These ships are also designed to be integrated with missiles, advanced sensors, and cutting-edge cybersecurity systems to detect and defeat airborne attacks.
Northrop Grumman Corp.
- Revenue: $36.6 billion (FY 2022)
- Founded/established: 1994 (as a merger)
- Headquarters: West Falls Church, Virginia
- Notable vessels: Next-Gen C5I Integration Offshore Patrol Cutter, Aegis guided-missile destroyer Dewey (DDG 105), and amphibious transport dock ship New York (LPD 21)
Northrop Grumman is one of the leading manufacturers of weapons systems and defense technology capabilities in the world. Northrop Grumman is a result of a merger between Northrop Corporation and Grumman Corporation, two former prime builders and suppliers of aircraft, vessels, and parts for the military and civilian markets.
Northrop Grumman’s expertise and credibility in engineering defense solutions made it a top contractor for the US federal government. As for shipbuilding, the company primarily focuses on designing and developing advanced naval systems with all-domain defense capabilities. It has developed Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, offshore patrol cutters, and land-and-sea transport dock ships and electronic charting systems, machinery control, steering systems, and electronic warfare capacities for US Navy surface fleets.
The US Navy first contracted Northrop Grumman to develop AN/SLQ-32(V)7 SEWIP Block 3 systems for its surface combatants in 2015. The defense shipbuilding firm received follow-up contracts in 2020 and 2023 to continue the production and supply of these systems to defend surface vessels from anti-ship threats through non-kinetic and electronic attack approaches.
Under the latest firm-fixed-price modification deal, Northrop Grumman will produce additional SEWIP units for the US Navy until December 2025 with fiscal shipbuilding funds worth $236 million.
Raytheon Technologies
- Revenue: $67.1 billion (FY 2022)
- Founded/established: 2020 (as a merger)
- Headquarters: Arlington, Virginia
- Notable vessels: Zumwalt-class destroyers
Raytheon Technologies Corporation is a leading manufacturer and provider of aerospace, defense, and intelligence solutions. A merger between United Technologies and the Raytheon Company, Raytheon Technologies carries over 100 years of proficiency in protecting the homeland from its two predecessors.
Many of Raytheon’s government contracts involve aerospace and land defense initiatives, although the company also specializes in developing surface ships and missile destroyers for naval missions. The company’s notable vessel, Zumwalt-class destroyers, are designed to be the US’s next-generation surface combat ships.
On April 19, 2023, Raytheon Technologies’s Missile & Defense division secured a $308 million contract for the Combat System engineering and the miscellaneous items and travel activities supporting the modernization of the Zumwalt-class guided-missile destroyers and development of the fleet’s warfare capabilities. This deal is a modification to an earlier Zumwalt-class modernization contract awarded on April 20, 2022.