The US Navy has awarded Newport News Shipbuilding, a division of Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII), a $56 million engineering and design contract under AUKUS, HII announced on October 13. The contract includes an option that, if exercised, would bring its total value to $91 million.
The agreement has two components. The first falls under Foreign Military Sales, the channel through which Washington provides services and equipment to other governments: Newport News will continue to support the United Kingdom and Australia on technology insertion, engineering, supply chain, workforce training and digital tools. The second is support to the US industrial base, with engineers and designers working on the development of the SSN-AUKUS, the nuclear-powered attack submarine that London and Canberra will build in their own shipyards.
According to the Pentagon notice, the contract is cost-plus-fixed-fee and covers design agent and design transfer activities for the submarines’ nuclear capabilities and their maintenance. The notice does not name the foreign customer; HII clarified the link to AUKUS. The funding comes entirely from the foreign partners.
The SSN-AUKUS will use a British design incorporating technologies from all three countries. The United States plans to supply propulsion components, weapons and a vertical launch system for missiles. Under the pathway set out in March 2023, the first British boat is expected in the late 2030s and the first Australian-built submarine in the early 2040s. Canberra plans to acquire at least eight boats, including three to five Virginia-class submarines purchased from the United States in the 2030s.
For HII, the contract adds to other Australian work. Its Mission Technologies division runs a program in Australia that qualifies local suppliers for the US submarine industrial base. In December 2025, the company also won the Nuclear Capability Advisory Services contract from the Australian Submarine Agency, covering nuclear program management and technical support for Australia’s nuclear-powered submarines.
The most closely watched strand is the transfer of expertise. With Australian and British engineers working alongside their Newport News counterparts, on-the-job training becomes part of the project itself. If the $91 million option is exercised, design work will continue with an already well-integrated team.
