Translation result
[TheGuro = Reporter Jeong Deung-yong] Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII), the U.S. defense shipbuilder, has pushed back the delivery date for an LHA-class amphibious assault ship bound for the U.S. Navy. Officials are pointing to shipyard staffing shortfalls and testing problems as the reasons for the delay.
A U.S. Navy budget support document dated May 17 shows delivery of LHA 8 (Bougainville) was moved from August of this year to July of next year, citing shipyard workforce shortages and issues discovered during testing.
HII CEO Chris Kastner told investors on a May 5 earnings call that the ship’s test program had encountered several problems.
“He said several new onboard systems have been causing difficulties,” Kastner added, “but testing has accelerated over the past few weeks.”
The Navy document also shows LHA 9, the America-class ship Fallujah, was delayed from September 2030 to July 2031 because of the same staffing shortfalls. LHA 10, Helmand Province, was pushed back one year from September 2033 to September 2034 for the same reason.
Meanwhile, Ingalls Shipbuilding, an HII subsidiary, last month signed a $283 million (about ₩377.33 billion KRW) contract with the U.S. Navy to support lead-ship activities for the FF(X)-class frigate program.See our April 30, 2026 report: ‘HII, HD Hyundai partner, to support FF(X)-class frigate construction costs of ₩420 billion (about $315 million USD) from the U.S. Navy’
Under the contract, Ingalls will procure long-lead materials and perform design work, allowing the yard to begin pre-construction activities for the lead ship. The shipyard will cut and form raw materials for primary structural components and prepare the full construction sequence for the first frigate.
Most Commented