HII (NYSE: HII) outlined its strategy to accelerate shipbuilding for the U.S. Navy during a House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense field hearing held in Santa Clarita, Calif.

Eric Chewning, HII's executive vice president of maritime systems and corporate strategy, told the subcommittee that the company's shipyard throughput increased 14% year-over-year in 2025 and that HII is targeting a 15% year-over-year increase in 2026. The company currently has approximately 40 ships at its Ingalls and Newport News facilities in active construction or modernization.

Chewning described HII's throughput strategy as centered on three areas: workforce hiring and retention, shipyard infrastructure modernization including the use of physical AI in shipbuilding, and expansion of the maritime industrial base through supply chain growth and a distributed shipbuilding approach.

As part of the industrial base expansion, HII plans to outsource more than two million hours of work in 2026, which the company said represents a 178% increase from 2024. The company said the outsourcing is intended to increase shipbuilding capacity and create jobs for small- and medium-sized businesses across the country.

Chewning also highlighted HII's Newport News Shipbuilding Charleston Operations as an example of maritime industrial base revitalization, describing how the facility was developed in partnership with the U.S. Navy, the State of South Carolina, and the Department of Defense's Industrial Base Policy Office into an advanced manufacturing campus supporting the submarine industrial base.

"In 2025, throughput in our shipyards increased by 14% year-over-year," Chewning said. "And with approximately 40 ships at Ingalls and Newport News in active construction or modernization, our focus in 2026 is clear: we must build on this momentum and continue delivering ships at a greater pace to the U.S. Navy."

The hearing was held before subcommittee Chairman Rep. Ken Calvert at College of the Canyons. The information is based on a company press release and Chewning's written testimony submitted to the subcommittee.