HII Recognizes Australian Firms at Sea Air Space 2025, Advancing AUKUS Industrial Integration and Submarine Supply Chain Access

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md., (April 10, 2025) — At the HII booth during the U.S. Navy League’s annual Sea Air Space 2025 Expo, representatives from five Australian companies were presented with certificates recognizing their successful participation in HII-led supplier development initiatives and received a Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS) supplier identification number.

The supplier development initiatives include state-led Supplier Capability Uplift Programs, which will feed into the new Australian Submarine Supplier Qualification (AUSSQ) program, announced by Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles on March 6, 2025.

Cullen Glass, vice president of supply chain management for HII’s Newport News Shipbuilding; Michael Lempke, president of the global security group at HII’s Mission Technologies division; and Eric Chewning, executive vice president of strategy & development for HII, presented certificates to:

• Century Engineering (South Australia)
• MacTaggart Scott Australia (South Australia)
• Hofmann Engineering (Western Australia)
• Levett Engineering (South Australia)
• VEEM Ltd. (Western Australia)

The supplier identification number signifies that, upon full certification through the AUSSQ process, these companies are qualified to participate in the NNS supply chain in support of nuclear-powered submarine construction.

Also in attendance were Rear Adm. Ian Murray, Australian Defence attaché; Linda Dawson, deputy director general for industry, science and innovation, Western Australian Government; and Sir Nick Hine, executive director of H&B Defence and former second sea lord of the Royal Navy.

This milestone reflects deepening industrial integration under the AUKUS trilateral security partnership between Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States. HII’s work, under contract with the Australian Government, supports the development of sovereign industrial capabilities and enables Australian companies to enter U.S. defense supply chains.

Linda Dawson, Deputy Director General for Industry, Science and Innovation in the Western Australian Government, HII executives Michael Lempke and Eric Chewning, Rear Admiral Ian Murray, Australian Defence Attaché, and Sir Nick Hine, Executive Director, H&B Defence; former Second Sea Lord, Royal Navy, join together to present supplier ID numbers to Western Australian manufacturers Hofmann Engineering and VEEM Ltd. at Sea-Air-Space 2025, recognizing their role in HII’s Western Australian Supplier Capability Uplift Program.Representatives from five Australian companies were presented with certificates recognizing their successful participation in HII-led supplier development initiatives and received a Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS) supplier identification number.HII executives Michael Lempke and Eric Chewning present supplier ID numbers to South Australian manufacturers Levett Engineering and MacTaggart Scott Australia at Sea-Air-Space 2025, recognizing their role in HII’s South Australia Supplier Capability Uplift Program. Also in attendance: Rear Admiral Ian Murray, Australian Defence Attaché, and Sir Nick Hine, Executive Director, H&B Defence; former Second Sea Lord, Royal Navy. The recognition supports South Australian industry’s entry into the AUKUS submarine supply chain and U.S. defense programs.