HII to Build Small Surface Combatants for US Navy

Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) has been selected by the U.S. Navy to design and construct the next generation of small surface combatant (SSC) ships for the U.S. fleet. This program marks a strategic shift in how the Navy approaches intermediate-sized warships by repurposing an existing, proven design rather than embarking on a wholly new platform development cycle.

Unlike earlier frigate programs that encountered significant delays and cost overruns due to extensive redesign and complexity, the SSC initiative leverages the established Legend-class national security cutter (NSC) design originally built for the U.S. Coast Guard. By using a hull form and construction process that shipbuilders at HII’s Ingalls Shipbuilding division have already mastered, the Navy aims to reduce technical risk, maintain predictable schedules, and streamline industrial base engagement.

Design Approach and Industrial Integration
The SSC will be based on the Legend-class NSC, a platform with a nearly two-decade history of construction and deployment. Ingalls Shipbuilding produced ten of these cutters for the Coast Guard, with the final unit delivered in October 2023. Building the SSC on the same production line and sequence as those cutters taps into existing infrastructure and expertise, contrasting sharply with previous programs that started from conceptual designs and required extensive iterative development.

This approach is explicitly intended to enhance production speed and predictability. By avoiding the uncertainty associated with unproven designs, HII and the Navy seek to accelerate delivery while controlling costs. The SSC program also aligns with broader efforts to expand capacity across the U.S. shipbuilding industrial base by distributing work through outsourcing partnerships and evaluating potential new facilities.

Comparative Positioning Against Prior Frigate Efforts
In contrast to the recently canceled Constellation-class frigate program, which encountered instability and design growth challenges, the SSC effort prioritizes design maturity and industrial readiness. The Constellation class, derived from a foreign design, faced extensive redesign work that eroded commonality and contributed to schedule slippage and budget increases. The SSC’s foundation on a domestically proven cutter design is intended to avoid similar pitfalls.

The SSC initiative is part of a broader shift in naval procurement that balances capability with build efficiency. Instead of pursuing highly complex multi-mission platforms from scratch, the Navy is opting for incremental evolution of trusted designs that can be delivered more predictably and integrated smoothly into existing shipbuilding lines.

Industrial Capacity and Strategic Impact
HII has invested more than $1 billion in infrastructure and tooling at Ingalls Shipbuilding to support next-generation platforms, underlining the company’s role as a cornerstone of U.S. naval ship production. With ongoing projects including destroyers, amphibious assault ships, and modernization efforts, the SSC program adds to a diversified portfolio of naval construction that spans multiple ship classes and mission sets.

By building small surface combatants on a stable, producible design and within established production flows, the Navy anticipates shorter lead times for introducing new hulls into service. The first SSC is expected to launch by 2028 under this plan.

HII’s small surface combatant program responds to longstanding challenges in naval shipbuilding by prioritizing design stability, industrial efficiency, and domestic production continuity. It differs from prior initiatives by anchoring the new combatant class in a field-proven cutter design and maximizing existing shipyard capabilities. This approach seeks to deliver capable, intermediate-sized surface warships more rapidly and cost-effectively than traditional bespoke development programs.

www.hii.com