HII Executive Reaffirms Commitment to U.S. Shipbuilding Revitalization at House Subcommittee Hearing
Eric Chewning, executive vice president of maritime systems and corporate strategy at HII, testified before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense at College of the Canyons. Chaired by Rep. Ken Calvert, the hearing focused on strengthening the nation's defense industrial base and revitalizing U.S. shipbuilding. Chewning emphasized the critical need for a modernized workforce, upgraded shipyard infrastructure, and an expanded maritime industrial base. He reported a 14% year-over-year throughput increase in HII shipyards in 2025, with approximately 40 ships currently under construction or modernization at Ingalls and Newport News. HII aims for a 15% throughput increase in 2026, driven by strategies focused on hiring, training, and retaining skilled workers, modernizing infrastructure with capital investments like physical AI, and expanding the maritime industrial base through supply chain growth and a distributed shipbuilding approach. Chewning highlighted the Newport News Shipbuilding Charleston O... 
