HII’s Ingalls Shipbuilding division has expanded its distributed shipbuilding strategy to include modular unit construction for the U.S. Navy’s amphibious transport dock programme, beginning with Philadelphia (LPD 32). The initiative builds on the success of distributed shipbuilding in HII’s destroyer programme and aims to increase production capacity while strengthening the national shipbuilding industrial base.
“Expanding distributed shipbuilding into the LPD program is a critical step in scaling capacity to meet rising fleet demand,” said Brian Blanchette, President of Ingalls Shipbuilding. “By shifting selected structural units to trusted partners, just as we’ve successfully done in the Flight III destroyer program, we’re enabling more parallel construction and freeing our Ingalls team to focus on the complex assembly and integration work that only a major shipyard can perform.”
Under the expanded approach, eight structural units for Philadelphia (LPD 32) have been awarded to two industry partners and have entered early production. The strategy follows efficiencies demonstrated in the Flight III destroyer programme, where partner-built units for Thad Cochran (DDG 135) supported early construction activities ahead of keel authentication.
HII plans to further increase the use of distributed shipbuilding to meet growing U.S. Navy fleet requirements. The company doubled its distributed shipbuilding workload last year and expects outsourced shipbuilding hours to increase by another 30% in 2026, with amphibious ships contributing significantly to this expansion.
