PHOTO RELEASE--Chief of Naval Operations Makes First Visit to Ingalls Shipbuilding

PASCAGOULA, Miss., Jan. 08, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Huntington Ingalls Industries' HII Ingalls Shipbuilding division hosted Adm. John Richardson Thursday as part of his visit to shipyards in the region. This was his first visit to Ingalls as Chief of Naval Operations. Richardson received updates on Ingalls' shipbuilding programs and toured the facility.

"We certainly appreciate Admiral Richardson taking the time out of his busy schedule to visit our shipyard to see the significant and high-quality work our shipbuilders are performing on a daily basis," said Ingalls Shipbuilding President Brian Cuccias. "It is difficult to truly understand our capabilities to build complex warships without seeing the facility first-hand. It's beneficial for Admiral Richardson to tour our ships so he can see and understand the value of the efficient work we are accomplishing for the U.S. Navy."

Richardson, who took office as CNO last September, received briefs on the four classes of military ships Ingalls is building for the Navy and U.S. Coast Guard before touring the shipyard, including stops on the guided missile destroyer John Finn (DDG 113) and amphibious transport dock John P. Murtha (LPD 26). Ingalls currently has 10 ships in various stages of construction.

"The work done at our private shipyards is critical to our national security," Richardson said. "This trip allowed me to meet with two key industry partners to better understand how they operate and where we can make improvements together. I especially enjoyed walking the Ingalls shop floors, talking with individual shipbuilders and supervisors about the role they play in building our future fleet."

A photo accompanying this release is available at: http://newsroom.huntingtoningalls.com/file?fid=568fd5915e8eef5dc0b9a543.

Huntington Ingalls Industries is America's largest military shipbuilding company and a provider of engineering, manufacturing and management services to the nuclear energy, oil and gas markets. For more than a century, HII's Newport News and Ingalls shipbuilding divisions in Virginia and Mississippi have built more ships in more ship classes than any other U.S. naval shipbuilder. Headquartered in Newport News, Virginia, HII employs nearly 37,000 people operating both domestically and internationally. For more information, visit:

• HII on the web: www.huntingtoningalls.com
• HII on Facebook: www.facebook.com/HuntingtonIngallsIndustries
• HII on Twitter: twitter.com/hiindustries