PASCAGOULA, Miss., Sept. 25, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE:HII) announced today that its Ingalls Shipbuilding division has delivered the composite hangar that will be used on the U.S. Navy’s second Zumwalt-class guided missile destroyer, Michael Monsoor (DDG 1001).

“Our shipbuilders’ performance on this hangar composite construction has allowed us to deliver it nine days ahead of the commitment made last year,” said Ingalls’ DDG 1000 Program Manager Steve Sloan. “This construction time is a significant improvement from the first set of class products to the second set. It is a testament to the hard work and excellent logistics and manufacturing processes put in place on this program. A considerable amount of outfitting transpired earlier in the process allowing for the early delivery time.”

The 220-ton structure will be translated to a shipping barge and sent to Maine in early October. Ingalls is building the hangar, peripheral vertical launch system (PVLS) and composite deckhouse for Michael Monsoor. The PVLS was delivered in July, and all that remains is the deckhouse delivery expected in first quarter of 2014.

About Huntington Ingalls

Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) designs, builds and maintains nuclear and non-nuclear ships for the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard and provides after-market services for military ships around the globe. For more than a century, HII has built more ships in more ship classes than any other U.S. naval shipbuilder at its Newport News Shipbuilding and Ingalls Shipbuilding divisions. Employing about 37,000 in Virginia, Mississippi, Louisiana and California, HII also provides a wide variety of products and services to the commercial energy industry and other government customers. For more information, visit: