The amphibious ship Bougainville (LHA-8) under construction at Ingalls Shipbuilding. (Photo courtesy of HII.)
SURFACE NAVY 2025 — An industry group representing 650 companies supplying parts for the US Navy’s amphibious warships says more than half of its members expect the recent multi-ship buy will lead to “immediate benefits” starting in 2025 or 2026.
The Amphibious Warship Industrial Base Coalition this week published the results of an annual survey of its suppliers who collectively make up the supply chain prime contractor HII relies upon to build the Navy’s America-class and San Antonio-class ships. In that survey, 65 percent of respondents indicated the bundle buy will lead to benefits within the two years.
The service in September announced it was awarding contracts to HII valued at $9.4 billion for three San Antonio-class (LPD) ships and one America-class (LHA) vessel, a deal that had been years in the making and particularly popular among Navy hawks on Capitol Hill.
“The amphibious warship bundle buy of three LPDs and one LHA will drive a considerable increase in efficiency across the amphibious warship industrial base and includes $1 billion in potential savings for American taxpayers,” the group said in a statement. “Additionally, savings incurred by the industrial base help combat the top challenges suppliers consistently face.”
According to a summary of the survey results, which AWIBC provided to Breaking Defense, 46 percent of respondents indicated the deal will improve their companies’ hiring, retention and training efforts and 42 percent said the deal would help to “invest in equipment to ensure quality and on-time delivery.” The summary’s sample group included 219 respondents.
Breaking Defense reported in September the multi-ship buy will include LPD-33, LPD-34 and LPD-35 as well as LHA-10. Collectively, the ships “support amphibious assault, special operations and expeditionary warfare of US Marines, moving Marines into theater and supporting humanitarian and contingency missions on short notice,” according to a description included in a letter Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro sent to lawmakers.
Under multi-ship buys, like the one the Navy awarded to HII in September, the service and industry agree on the prices of multiple ships years in advance and within the same contractual agreement. For the Navy, this usually nets significant price savings by effectively purchasing materials in bulk. For industry, the deals provide the project stability that shipbuilding executives frequently ask both Congress and the Defense Department to provide.
