HII awarded $2.4 billion LHA-9 contract

The Navy has awarded HII's Ingalls Shipbuilding a $2.4 billion contract to build the fourth amphibious assault ship, LHA-9.

The award includes options that, if exercised, could raise the contract value to $3.2 billion, according to an Oct. 27 contract announcement.

Construction is scheduled to begin in December, according to HII’s press release.

“Ingalls shipbuilders are ready to build the Navy’s newest LHA,” said Ingalls Shipbuilding President Kari Wilkinson in the release. “We understand how important this work is and consider it an honor to be given the opportunity to deliver this capability to the fleet. We value our partnership with the Navy and all of our critical supplier partners.”

The third ship of the America class, Bougainville (LHA-8), is under construction at HII.

The Navy’s fiscal year 2023 budget request pushes LHA-10 out to 2031, which is about a nine- or 10-year gap in production from LHA-9. Lawmakers are hoping to move the LHA-10 schedule to the left in the final defense policy bill to avoid a cost increase for the Navy and keep the industrial base on track.