Ingalls launches LPD 26

PASCAGOULA, Miss. – The Ingalls Shipbuilding division of Huntington Ingalls Industries launched the company's 10th amphibious transport dock, John P. Murtha (LPD 26). LPD 26 was moved on rail cars from land to the company's floating drydock on Oct. 19. Work took place last week to prepare the ship for today's launch. Ingalls has built and delivered nine ships in the San Antonio class of ships, with LPDs 26 and 27 remaining. LPD 27, named Portland, is scheduled to launch in 2016. (Source: Huntington Ingalls Industries, 10/30/14)

Two HII women honored

Two Huntington Ingalls Industries employees were honored last week at the Society of Women Engineers' annual conference in Los Angeles. Alma Martinez Fallon, from HII's Newport News, Va., Shipbuilding division, and Dianna Genton, from the Ingalls Shipbuilding division in Pascagoula, Miss., received recognition for their dedication to women in the engineering profession. Genton, a naval architect, received an Emerging Leader Award, one of only 10 given annually by the society. Genton is currently the technical lead for two Office of Naval Research Manufacturing Technology programs at Ingalls. (Source: HII, 10/27/14)

Work begins on Crowley ships

PASCAGOULA, Miss. -- VT Halter Marine's Pascagoula shipyard has begun construction on the first of two liquefied natural gas-powered roll-on/roll-off container vessels for Crowley Maritime Corp. VT Halter announced the $350 million contract last November. Beginning of construction was marked by a steel-cutting ceremony. Delivery of the two vessels is scheduled for mid and late 2017. (Source: Mississippi Press, 10/22/14)

Contract: Austal, $8.4M

Austal USA LLC, Mobile, Ala., is being awarded an $8,440,860 cost-plus-fixed-fee modification to a previously awarded contract (N00024-11-C-2301) to exercise an option for Littoral Combat Ship Core Class Services. Austal USA LLC will assess engineering and production challenges, as well as develop, evaluate costs and schedule risks for engineering change proposals and class baseline documentation in support of production efforts. Work will be performed in Mobile (60 percent) and Pittsfield, Mass. (40 percent), and work is expected to be completed October 2015. Fiscal 2014 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funding in the amount of $8,440,860 will be obligated at time of award. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, District of Columbia, is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 10/14/14)

Navy to commission LHA 6

The Navy will commission its newest amphibious assault ship, USS America (LHA 6), during a 1 p.m. EDT ceremony Oct. 11 in San Francisco, Calif. Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus will deliver the ceremony's principal address. Mrs. Lynne Pace, wife of retired U.S. Marine Corps Gen. Peter Pace, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is serving as the ship's sponsor. (Source: DoD, 10/10/14) Gulf Coast note: The ship was built by Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, Miss.

Contract: Austal, $7.2M

Austal USA, Mobile, Ala., is being awarded a $7,214,198 cost-plus-fixed-fee modification to a previously awarded contract (N00024-11-C-2301) to exercise an option for post-delivery support for Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) 8. This option exercise is for post-delivery support of LCS 8 of the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) program. Austal will perform the planning and implementation of deferred design changes that have been identified during the construction period. The corrections and upgrades are necessary to support LCS 8's sailaway and follow-on post-delivery test and trials period. Work will be performed in Mobile (70 percent); Pittsfield, Mass. (20 percent); and San Diego, Calif. (10 percent), and is expected to be completed by October 2016. Fiscal 2011 ship construction (Navy) funds in the amount of $500,000 will be obligated at time of award and 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, 10/09/14)

Austal Hull earns USMC pact

Austal Hull 130 Chartering LLC of Mobile, Ala., was awarded a $14,676,250 firm-fixed-price contract for the charter of a U.S.-flagged passenger/cargo vessel. The vessel will support the 3rd Marine Expeditionary Force in the Far East. This contract includes two, 2-month option periods and a FAR 52.217-8 option period which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to $29,861,050. Work will be performed in the Far East, and is expected to be completed by May 2016. (DOD 10/03/14)

PC completes new C4N review

The Navy successfully completed a Critical Design Review for a new Command, Control, Communications, Computers & Navigation (C4N) suite for Landing Craft, Air Cushion (LCAC) ships Oct. 2 at Panama City’s Naval Surface Warfare Center. The LCAC C4N suite, also known as the command module electronics package, is the user interface that crew members use to operate the craft. "The critical design review is an important milestone," said Senior Software Engineer Lisa Nowalk of the Panama City NSWC. (Source: Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City, Fla. 10/02/14) Gulf Coast Shipbuilding Note: Textron Marine and Land Systems of Avondale, La., was selected to build 91 LCACs. The last was delivered to the Navy in 2001. But TMLS was awarded a contract in July 2012 for a new Ship to Shore Connector craft to replace the retiring LCACs.

Work begins on new destroyer

PASCAGOULA, Miss. -- Ingalls Shipbuilding on Tuesday marked the start of fabrication for the future Aegis-guided missile destroyer Paul Ignatius (DDG 117). Paul Ignatius, the ship's namesake, and his wife, Nancy Ignatius, the ship's sponsor, visited the shipyard to see steel cut for the destroyer. Paul Ignatius served as Secretary of the Navy from 1967 to 1969 and was the Assistant Secretary of Defense during President Lyndon B. Johnson's administration. The ship is the 31st Aegis destroyer to be built at Ingalls. Ingalls is building two other destroyers in addition to Paul Ignatius. John Finn (DDG 113) is scheduled to be delivered in 2016, and Ralph Johnson (DDG 114) is scheduled to be delivered in 2017. (Source: Huntington Ingalls Industries via Globe Newswire, 09/30/14)