SHERIDAN, WYOMING – April 14, 2026 – Huntington Ingalls Industries, known as HII, is the United States' largest military shipbuilder, responsible for constructing and delivering some of the most powerful naval vessels in the world. But the company's reach extends well beyond the shipyard, spanning cybersecurity, space operations, artificial intelligence, and multi-domain defense technologies. With three major divisions and facilities across multiple U.S. states, HII occupies a central position in America's national defense infrastructure. For anyone trying to understand who builds and sustains the systems behind U.S. military power, HII is a name worth knowing.
Ships at the Core
HII's shipbuilding foundation rests on two storied yards. Newport News Shipbuilding, based in Newport News, Virginia, is the country's sole designer and builder of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and one of only two facilities capable of constructing nuclear-powered submarines. Ingalls Shipbuilding, located in Pascagoula, Mississippi, produces amphibious assault ships, guided missile destroyers, and national security cutters for the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard. Together, these two divisions represent decades of specialized industrial capacity that cannot easily be replicated elsewhere in the American defense sector, making HII an irreplaceable part of the country's naval readiness.
Cyber, Space, and Beyond
HII's third division, Mission Technologies — headquartered in McLean, Virginia — handles the company's non-shipbuilding defense work. This includes both offensive and defensive cyber capabilities, rapid prototyping, and software and data integration for military customers. In the space domain, HII supports the U.S. Space Force and provides advanced geospatial intelligence, AI-driven ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance) network management, and electronic warfare design for spacecraft. On the ground, Mission Technologies delivers C5ISR systems — covering command, control, communications, computers, cyber, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance — along with modernization programs for ground vehicles and unmanned mobility platforms.
All-Domain Integration
What distinguishes HII from a traditional shipbuilder is its investment in joint all-domain operations — the military concept of connecting forces across land, sea, air, space, and cyberspace so they can share data and act in concert. HII designs and integrates the networks, sensors, and systems that enable this kind of interoperability across some of the most advanced military platforms in existence. The company also develops live, virtual, and constructive training solutions, as well as aviation and ISR sensor systems designed for deployment in high-threat and austere environments. HII describes its mission as providing platforms, technologies, and services to strengthen and connect an all-domain force.
Why it matters
For American taxpayers and defense observers, HII represents a critical slice of the country's military-industrial foundation. The company is active in domains that sit at the center of modern conflict — cyber warfare, space-based operations, and AI-driven intelligence — while still performing its foundational role building the ships that project U.S. naval power globally. HII's divisions are spread across Virginia, Mississippi, and the greater Washington, D.C. area, making it a significant regional employer as well as a national security asset. As the U.S. military continues to prioritize multi-domain readiness and technological superiority, the breadth of HII's capabilities positions it as one of the most strategically consequential defense contractors operating today.
The scale and diversity of HII's work reflects how modern defense contracting has shifted — from forging steel hulls to securing digital networks and tracking threats from orbit.