HII Hosts Australian Minister for Defence Industry at Newport News Shipbuilding Charleston Operations
Rhea-AI Summary
HII (NYSE: HII) hosted Australian Minister for Defence Industry Pat Conroy at its Newport News Shipbuilding Charleston Operations in Goose Creek, South Carolina, to highlight support for the AUKUS trilateral partnership and Australia’s pathway to a conventionally armed, nuclear-powered submarine capability.
The site, under HII ownership, has increased production by more than 50% as it ramps up for U.S. Navy programs. HII outlined its distributed shipbuilding initiative and its role in the Australian Submarine Supplier Qualification (AUSSQ) Program, which has qualified 13 Australian suppliers across seven work packages for U.S. and U.K. nuclear submarine supply chains.
Positive
- Charleston site production up more than 50% under HII ownership
- 13 Australian suppliers qualified to join U.S. and U.K. nuclear submarine programs via AUSSQ
- Seven AUSSQ work packages support Virginia-class and future SSN-AUKUS submarines
- AUSSQ contract expands HII role in Australian nuclear-powered submarine enterprise
Negative
- None.
Details
News Market Reaction – HII
On Jul 28, the first trading day after this news, HII closed 4.04% above the previous close. Our momentum scanner recorded 10 alerts for this stock that day. Relative volume reached 2.4x the daily average during tracking.
Data tracked by StockTitan Argus for the Jul 28 session.
Key Figures
- Production increase
- more than 50%
- Under HII ownership at Charleston Operations
- Site area
- 45 acres
- Charleston Operations site
- Covered manufacturing space
- more than 480,000 square feet
- Charleston Operations site
- AUSSQ work packages
- seven critical work packages
- Australian Submarine Supplier Qualification Program
- Qualified suppliers
- 13 Australian suppliers
- Qualified to date under AUSSQ
- Professionals trained
- thousands of professionals
- Workforce support for Australia's nuclear-powered submarine enterprise
Historical Context
-
Named Michael DeBernardis vice president and chief counsel of Mission Technologies
-
Erected first grand blocks built by distributed shipbuilding partners
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Appointed retired Vice Admiral Frederick Roegge to nuclear operations
-
Corrected an erroneous release about an unmanned autonomy briefing
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Invited media to visit the Charleston Operations manufacturing facility
24h Move is the share-price change in the day after each event; other market factors may also have contributed.
AI-generated analysis. How Rhea-AI works. Not financial advice.
GOOSE CREEK, S.C., July 27, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- HII (NYSE: HII) hosted Australian Minister for Defence Industry Pat Conroy today at the company’s Newport News Shipbuilding Charleston Operations site in South Carolina.
The visit was held in support of the trilateral Australia, United Kingdom and United States (AUKUS) partnership. HII continues its commitment to supporting AUKUS and the optimal pathway for Australia’s acquisition of a conventionally armed, nuclear-powered, submarine capability and a broader partnership on advanced capabilities.
The visit included a tour of the production facility and discussions with company leaders about HII’s distributed shipbuilding initiative to increase shipbuilding throughput and meet the increased demand for ships. Under HII’s ownership, the site has increased production by more than
“It was a pleasure to tour this facility and see firsthand the capability established here, and the impact it is already having on the U.S. submarine industrial base,” Conroy said.
Photos accompanying this release are available at: http://hii.com/news/hii-hosts-australian-minister-for-defence-industry-at-newport-news-shipbuilding-charleston-operations/.
“I look forward to seeing Australian-made parts coming through this, and other U.S. facilities, demonstrating the strength of the AUKUS partnership and our shared commitment to industrial uplift.”
NNS Charleston Operations is located on 45 acres along the Cooper River with more than 480,000 square feet of covered manufacturing space. It is strategically located within South Carolina’s rapidly growing maritime ecosystem, having both barge and rail access, capacity to expand, and growing access to the highly skilled maritime trades workforce.
“We are honored Minister Conroy chose to invest time with us at HII during his trip to the United States,” said Matt Needy, NNS vice president of Charleston Operations. “We value the opportunity to share best practices from our expanded operations, here in South Carolina, to help accelerate AUKUS momentum.”
HII is actively supporting a range of initiatives to advance the AUKUS trilateral security partnership. HII was awarded the contract to deliver the Australian Submarine Supplier Qualification (AUSSQ) Program, which accelerates the identification, development and qualification of Australian suppliers for integration into the United States submarine industrial base.
HII is also working with Australian industry and academia to develop the skilled workforce needed to support Australia’s nuclear-powered submarine enterprise. This includes educating and training thousands of engineers, maritime specialists, nuclear tradespeople and other professionals to support the enterprise across its full lifecycle.
A cornerstone initiative under AUKUS Pillar I, AUSSQ is strengthening Australia’s sovereign nuclear-powered submarine capability by qualifying Australian small and medium-sized enterprises to participate in the U.S. and U.K. nuclear submarine supply chains. The program spans seven critical work packages supporting the construction and sustainment of Virginia-class submarines and the future SSN-AUKUS platform.
To date, AUSSQ has qualified 13 Australian suppliers, providing them with a pathway into U.S. and U.K. nuclear submarine programs and embedding Australian industry into AUKUS submarine production and sustainment.
About HII
HII is America’s largest shipbuilder, delivering the world’s most powerful ships and all-domain mission technologies, including unmanned systems, to U.S. and allied defense customers. HII is the largest producer of unmanned underwater vehicles for the U.S. Navy and the world.
With a more than 140-year history of advancing U.S. national security, HII builds and integrates defense capabilities extending from the core fleet to C6ISR, AI/ML, EW and synthetic training. Headquartered in Virginia, HII’s workforce is 45,000 strong. For more information, visit:
- HII on the web: https://www.HII.com/
- HII on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TeamHII
- HII on X: https://www.twitter.com/WeAreHII
- HII on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/WeAreHII
- HII on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/wearehii
Contact:
Todd Corillo
Todd.T.Corillo@HII-co.com
(757) 688-3220
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/f6587908-29bf-4c28-8d93-79b0268f08b5
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