HII (NYSE: HII) said its Ingalls Shipbuilding division has extended its distributed shipbuilding strategy to the U.S. Navy's amphibious transport dock program, beginning with Philadelphia (LPD 32).

According to a press release, eight structural units for Philadelphia have been awarded to two partner companies and are already in early production. The approach mirrors a method previously applied to the Flight III destroyer program, where partner-built units for Thad Cochran (DDG 135) arrived ahead of the ship's October 2025 keel authentication.

Ingalls Shipbuilding President Brian Blanchette said the expansion is intended to increase parallel construction capacity. "By shifting selected structural units to trusted partners, just as we've successfully done in the Flight III destroyer program, we're enabling more parallel construction and freeing our Ingalls team to focus on the complex assembly and integration work that only a major shipyard can perform," he said.

HII said it doubled its distributed shipbuilding workload last year and plans to increase outsourced shipbuilding hours by 30% in 2026, with amphibious ships representing a significant portion of that growth.