Ingalls Shipbuilding Extends Distributed Construction to Navy Amphibious Ships

• Two partner yards hold contracts for eight structural units on Philadelphia, LPD 32, with work already in early production
• Partners build outfitted units at their own sites, then ship them to Pascagoula for final integration
• The approach follows the destroyer line, where six partners across several states took on early work starting in 2025

HII Ingalls Shipbuilding has brought its distributed construction approach to the Navy’s amphibious transport dock program. Two partners hold contracts for eight structural units on Philadelphia, or LPD 32, and that work is already in early production, HII said Monday.

Under the model, partner yards build outfitted structural units that are inspected and accepted at their own facilities before shipping to Pascagoula for final integration. Ingalls Shipbuilding President Brian Blanchette said moving selected units outside frees the Pascagoula workforce for complex assembly and integration that only a major shipyard can handle.

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How Did the Destroyer Program Set the Precedent?

Ingalls began outsourcing structural units on Arleigh Burke-class destroyers in 2025, selecting partners outside its traditional labor market where skilled workers and facility capacity already existed. Six shipbuilding partners in multiple states took on early work covering DDGs 135, 137 and 139.

Partner-built units for Thad Cochran, DDG 135, reached the yard ahead of the ship’s keel authentication in October 2025 and supported early-sequence work. HII said it wants to reproduce those results on the amphibious line.

How Much Work Is HII Moving Outside Its Yards?

HII doubled its distributed shipbuilding workload last year. The company plans to raise outsourced shipbuilding hours by another 30 percent in 2026 and said amphibious ships account for a significant share of that increase.

What Is LPD 32?

Philadelphia is the third ship in the LPD-17 Flight II class and the 16th San Antonio-class vessel built at Ingalls. Flight II ships are replacing the Navy’s LSD 41 and LSD 49 classes of dock landing ships.

Ingalls received a $240 million contract in June 2022 to procure long-lead materials and major equipment for LPD 32 and to begin construction work.