Eastern Shipbuilding Partners with HII to Boost U.S. Navy Destroyer Production

Eastern Shipbuilding Group (ESG) has announced a strategic agreement with HII’s Ingalls Shipbuilding Division to support production of outfitted structural units for the U.S. Navy’s Flight III Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyers. The partnership helps expand America’s naval shipbuilding capacity at a critical time for the nation’s defense industrial base.

The collaboration builds upon a successful pilot program in which ESG constructed DDG units at its Nelson Street Facility in Panama City, Florida. This arrangement allows both companies to leverage their respective expertise while supporting the U.S. Navy’s growing fleet requirements.

“With nearly fifty years of experience delivering some of the most reliable and highest-performing steel and aluminum vessels, we’re proud to partner with HII to support production of the U.S. Navy’s destroyer fleet,” said Joey D’Isernia, CEO of Eastern Shipbuilding Group. “This collaboration strengthens our national shipbuilding capability—expanding industrial capacity and enhancing our nation’s competitive advantage.”

ESG is making significant infrastructure investments to support these goals, with a major improvement project at its Nelson Street government shipbuilding facility scheduled for completion this summer. These enhancements will substantially increase ESG’s capacity to construct and deliver multiple ships annually.

The partnership comes as HII implements a broader strategy to expand its throughput capabilities across the United States. Earlier this month, HII disclosed it is partnering with shipyards and fabricators in multiple states to meet increasing demand from the U.S. Navy.

“HII is all in on our commitment to grow our throughput and turn out more ships at both yards more quickly for the Navy,” HII CEO and President Chris Kastner stated. “We’ve already doubled our outsourced hours in 2025 and we are on track to quadruple them in a two year period. Our hiring is up, our attrition is down, and our experience base is growing.”

The current scope of destroyer work involves six different shipbuilding partners across multiple states and will support construction of DDGs 135, 137, and 139. These partners were strategically selected from beyond HII’s traditional labor market, focusing on locations with existing skilled labor and facility capacity.

HII’s structural assembly network now encompasses 23 companies and continues to expand. The company is also exploring international partnerships, having established relationships with Hyundai Heavy Industries and Babcock International Group to enhance throughput and strengthen the shipbuilding industrial base globally.

For Newport News Shipbuilding in Virginia, HII recently acquired a manufacturing facility in Goose Creek, South Carolina, now known as Charleston Operations. This site will produce completed submarine modules and structural aircraft carrier units, with significant room for future expansion.

This distributed shipbuilding model represents a significant shift in U.S. naval procurement strategy, as the Department of Defense works to rebuild domestic industrial capacity while meeting growing demands for new vessels in an increasingly contested maritime environment.

As the nation’s largest military shipbuilder with a 135-year history of advancing U.S. national security, HII employs 44,000 people and delivers capabilities ranging from ships to unmanned systems, cyber, ISR, AI/ML and synthetic training.

Subscribe for Daily Maritime Insights

Sign up for gCaptain’s newsletter and never miss an update

— trusted by our 107,293 members