Huntington Ingalls Secures Contract to Support Aircraft Carrier

Huntington Ingalls Industries Inc.’s HII subsidiary, HII Fleet Support Group LLC, recently won a contract to support the refueling and complex overhaul, as well as the engineering maintenance assist team of the USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74) aircraft carrier. The work related to this contract will be executed in Newport News, VA.

Details of HII’s New Deal

Valued at nearly $13.1 million, the contract is expected to be completed on Aug. 28, 2026. The award has been provided by the Supervisor of Shipbuilding, Conversion and Repair, Newport News, VA.

Per the terms of the deal, HII will be engaged in offering assistance for preparation, evaluation and execution of repairs, and technical guidance for maintenance execution and repairs involving the CVN 74 warship.

HII's Leadership in Aircraft Carriers

Aircraft carriers are vital to a nation’s capability to command, control and coordinate naval operations while safeguarding its coastline. As the United States remains a dominant force in the global naval defense market, Huntington Ingalls’ prowess as a prominent supplier of the U.S. aircraft carrier remains significant.

Huntington Ingalls’ Newport News unit has built more than 31 aircraft carriers for the U.S. Navy since 1933, including all 10 Nimitz-class aircraft carriers currently in active service and the first ship of the next-generation Gerald R. Ford-class (CVN 78) aircraft carriers.

To further strengthen its position in the U.S. naval defense space, HII is currently developing the next-generation Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carrier.

With more than 135 years of experience in building naval ships, Huntington Ingalls enjoys a consistent flow of orders, like the latest one, which boosts its revenue generation prospects.

HII’s Growth Potential

Increasing hostilities among nations have prompted governments of different countries to strengthen their naval forces through rising investment in naval vessels, including aircraft carriers, to boost their sea warfare capabilities.

To this end, the Mordor Intelligence firm projects the global Aircraft Carrier Ship market to witness a CAGR of 12.8% in the 2025-2030 period. Such market projections are likely to benefit Huntington Ingalls, which is America’s largest shipbuilder and the nation’s sole builder of aircraft carriers.

Opportunities for Other Defense Stocks

Apart from HII, defense players that can gain from the expanding Aircraft Carrier Ship market are discussed below:

RTX Corporation RTX: Its Raytheon business unit offers the AN/SPY-6 family of radars deployed on U.S. Navy aircraft carriers. These radars deliver advanced air and missile defense across seven classes of warships.

RTX boasts a long-term (three to five years) earnings growth rate of 9.1%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2025 sales indicates year-over-year growth of 6.1%.

BAE Systems plc BAESY: The company commissions, designs, builds, repairs and services a wide range of complex navy ships, including aircraft carriers. Its Queen Elizabeth Class Aircraft Carriers are the largest warships ever constructed in the United Kingdom.

BAESY has a long-term earnings growth rate of 14.5%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the company’s 2025 sales suggests a year-over-year increase of 63.4%.

Lockheed Martin LMT: The company’s AN/SLQ-32 electronic warfare systems are installed on all U.S. Navy ships. The system provides early detection, analysis, threat warning and protection from anti-ship missiles.

LMT has a long-term earnings growth rate of 10.3%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the company’s 2025 sales indicates year-over-year growth of 4.6%.

HII Stock Price Movement

In the past six months, HII shares have climbed 39.1% compared with the industry’s growth of 20.2%.

HII’s Zacks Rank

HII currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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