Navy inks long awaited $9.4B deal with HII for 4 amphibious warships

WASHINGTON — The Navy today announced it has awarded contracts to HII for construction of four amphibious warships, executing a block buy deal years in the making which is expected to save the service up to $1 billion compared to buying the ships one-by-one.

The ships being purchased under the $9.4 billion worth of contracts are three San Antonio-class amphibious transport docks (LPD-33 in fiscal 2025, LPD-34 in FY27, and LPD-35 in FY29) and one amphibious assault ship, (LHA-10 in FY27), also referred to as a “large-deck amphib.” The San Antonio-class ships were included in a multi-ship procurement contract while the America-class amphibious assault ship is part of a contract modification.

Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro in August sent lawmakers a letter, first reported by POLITICO, notifying them that the service and HII, which builds the amphibious ships at Ingalls Shipbuilding in Mississippi, had reached a deal.

RELATED: Navy Secures Multi-Ship Amphib Buy, Saving Estimated $1B: Lawmaker

Under a multi-ship buy, also called a “block buy,” the Navy and industry agree on the prices of multiple ships years in advance and within the same contractual agreement. For the Navy, this results in price savings by purchasing material orders in bulk. For industry, these deals provide the scheduling stability shipbuilder executives frequently and publicly ask lawmakers and the Defense Department to provide.

This deal in particular has been years in the making. Lawmakers have repeatedly urged the Navy to secure a block buy for amphibious ships given the Marine Corps’ urgent need for more of those vessels as well as the service’s success in carrying out a similar acquisition in 2019 for two aircraft carriers.

“We greatly appreciate the stability that this award provides to all Ingalls shipbuilders and our surrounding communities. It is an honor to continue our support of the joint Navy and Marine Corps mission to meet the minimum 31 amphibious ship requirement,” said Kari Wilkinson, president of Ingalls Shipbuilding, in a statement released following the Navy’s announcement.

“We stand ready to reinforce an already strong team of capable shipbuilders with the ideas and skills of new shipbuilders that want to make a difference in the world. There is no greater sense of accomplishment than doing something difficult in support of our nation’s military,” she continued.

The four ships “will 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 Del Toro’s letter to lawmakers.

To date, Ingalls has delivered 13 San Antonio-class ships and 15 large-deck amphibious ships.