HII, Babcock strengthen ties on Virginia-class submarine construction

December 10, 2025, by Fatima Bahtić

Defense majors Babcock and HII have signed a contract that expands their strategic partnership to further support the Virginia-class submarine construction.

As disclosed, the goal of the agreement is to increase the throughput at HII’s Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS) division. Additionally, the contract will build resiliency within HII’s submarine supply base.

This is the first Virginia-class outsourced contract to Babcock in support of NNS-specific submarine work, authorizing the firm to build complex submarine assemblies at the Rosyth facility in Scotland, for Virginia-class Block VI fast-attack submarines.

The contract will expand the number of suppliers that can perform large structural work, Babcock noted.

“This is a significant next step in delivering on our joint commitment to enhance both organizations’ capabilities, for the benefit of U.S. and U.K. programs,” said Chris Kastner, HII president and CEO.

“Leveraging Babcock’s reach and expertise in the U.K. will reinforce our supplier base, strengthen submarine production in the U.S., and support the trilateral AUKUS partnership.”

David Lockwood, CEO of Babcock International Group, said: “Babcock’s advanced manufacturing expertise has enabled us to build on our established missile tube assembly capability, to deliver additional complex assemblies for the US submarine fleet. This expansion of our strategic partnership with HII enables us to optimize our joint capabilities for the benefit of the wider AUKUS security partnership.”

In July 2023, HII and Babcock entered into a strategic agreement to collaborate on naval and civil nuclear decommissioning and construction opportunities in the U.K. and U.S.

Since then, the companies have successfully worked across the U.S., U.K., and Australia, including the Australian Submarine Supplier Qualification (AUSSQ) program to accelerate the identification and qualification of Australian suppliers and products into the U.S. submarine industrial base.

The program is working toward expanding to include products entering the U.K. submarine industrial base for the Astute-class.