Mike Petters on HII’s Contracts, Navy’s Shipbuilding Plan

Mike Petters, president and CEO of Huntington Ingalls Industries, told analysts Thursday that this a “very exciting time in shipbuilding” amid HII’s recent contract wins, USNI News reported Thursday.

“Orders are in the book and the team can get cut loose to execute those orders,” he told analysts during the company’s earnings call.

In late January, HII’s Newport News Shipbuilding division received a $15.2B contract modification from the U.S. Navy to design and build two Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carriers. A month prior to that, Ingalls Shipbuilding secured two contracts worth $930.9M combined to construct the 10th and 11th National Security Cutters for the U.S. Coast Guard.

The Navy also tapped HII in September for a potential $5.25B contract to build new Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer ships.

Petters also discussed the Navy’s shipbuilding program in the next three decades, including the contract for LHA-9 and LHA-10 amphibious assault ships and the challenge the service faces when it comes to building up the readiness of its submarine fleet, according to the report.