Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) officials said the company has completed the initial phase of its Unmanned Systems Center of Excellence, which will be used to assemble hull structures.
Construction of the 22,000-square-foot facility serves as the first of two planned buildings on the 20-acre campus in Hampton, Va., that will aid hull structure assembly for Boeing’s Orca Extra Large Unmanned Undersea Vehicle (XLUUV) program for the U.S. Navy.
“We are thrilled to reach this critical milestone with the development of our Center of Excellence campus,” Andy Green, executive vice president of HII and president of HII’s Technical Solutions division, said. “Opening this initial facility immediately expands our unmanned systems capability and helps support the increasing needs of our customers who defend our national security.”
Construction began in September 2020, per authorities, and was followed by a groundbreaking event that included Gov. Ralph Northam and other state and local government officials.
“HII has made significant investments in the unmanned systems industry during the last year, including this Center of Excellence,” Duane Fotheringham, president of Technical Solutions’ Unmanned Systems business group, said. “This facility solidifies HII’s commitment to advancing development of unmanned systems for our current and future customers.”
More than 250 jobs will be created to support unmanned systems design and production at the facility, per HII, with officials indicating employees began working in the first building on Dec. 28, 2020.