HII revamping ship designs

Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) dominates the Navy and Coast Guard ship-construction sector with eight production contracts. Officials at HII, cognizant of what’s potentially ahead, are aligning themselves with a single customer (Navy) and turning their attentions to that future. However, the Navy’s recent appetite for tailored ships has been suppressed by financial realities and buying challenges. Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Jonathan Greenert wants to defend the nation’s shipbuilding industrial base, but isn’t going to tolerate expensive designs and systems. Instead, CNO is pushing a concept to employ common system architecture designs across ship classes and adaptability to modular warfare packages. In tandem, CNO has initiated an effort to pare down the types of platform components and equipment the Navy buys – nuts and bolts to combat systems. This commonality is designed to simplify support and training, plus reduce costs. Industry’s challenge is to meet the Navy’s future warship requirements with few component types, at a reduced cost and with greater capability. For HII’s Ingalls Shipbuilding division in Pascagoula, Miss., where they construct Navy amphibious and surface warships, and CG national security cutters, the sea-service’s ‘payloads and platforms’ concept forms the core that executives have wrapped the company’s business strategy around. (Source: IHS Jane’s Navy International 06/14)