Shipbuilder and all-domain technologies provider HII recently hosted Rep. Robert C. “Bobby” Scott, D-Va.; Rep. Rob Wittman, R-Va.; and a delegation of Australian parliamentarians at its Newport News Shipbuilding division. The visit was held in support of the trilateral Australia, United Kingdom and United States (AUKUS) partnership. HII continues to bolster AUKUS, which set in motion tasking across all three countries to determine the optimal pathway to provide Australia with conventionally armed, nuclear-powered submarines.
The Australian delegation included Milton Dick, speaker of the Australian House of Representatives; Australian House of Representatives members David Littleproud, Sharon Claydon, Joanne Ryan and Bert van Manen; as well as officials from the Parliament of Australia and the Embassy of Australia.
During the visit, the delegation engaged with senior leadership about the company’s nuclear-powered submarine sustainment expertise, supply chain management experience and longstanding industry-leading workforce development efforts.
“We are honoured the delegation chose to invest time with us during their trip to the United States, and thank Congressmen Scott and Wittman for their continued support,” NNS President Jennifer Boykin said. “We value every opportunity to demonstrate how HII is working in earnest to leverage our experience and stewardship of complex platforms and technologies in support of the critical AUKUS agreement.”
“I am proud to represent thousands of the nation’s best shipbuilders and welcome the Australian delegation to Hampton Roads where we build nuclear-powered submarines,” Scott said. “We welcome the opportunity to support the AUKUS agreement and strengthen the bonds with our Australian allies.”
“The AUKUS agreement is integral to deterring China’s growing military aggression in the Indo-Pacific, and Virginia’s robust submarine industrial base plays an outsized role in upholding our nation’s commitment to this trilateral security pact,” Wittman said. “As vice chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, I was proud to bring this delegation of Australian Parliamentarians to Newport News and show them the cutting-edge platforms and technology used to build Virginia-class submarines here in the Commonwealth.”
“I’m proud to lead a delegation of cross-party representatives from the Australian Parliament to demonstrate enduring bipartisan support for the AUKUS partnership,” Dick said. “It was great to join Congressmen Wittman and Scott for this visit to HII. The tour was an excellent opportunity to deepen our understanding of the work behind nuclear powered submarine construction, workforce and supply chain development as Australia develops our nuclear powered submarine enterprise.”
NNS is one of only two shipyards capable of designing and building nuclear-powered submarines for the U.S. Navy. HII is the founding member of the AUKUS Workforce Alliance (AWA), a dedicated partnership committed to preparing a skilled workforce in support of all steps of Australia’s optimal pathway to sovereign nuclear-powered submarines.
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