Huntington Ingalls Industries of Newport News, Va., received a $282 million award for additional work on the U.S. Navy aircraft carrier Enterprise, the Defense Department announced on Thursday. Photo courtesy of U.S. Navy

Dec. 28 (UPI) -- The Defense Department announced the award of a $228 million contract to Huntington Ingalls Industries for work on the new aircraft carrier USS Enterprise.

The contract, announced on Thursday, gives Huntington Ingalls' Newport News Shipbuilding Inc. division a longer lead time in support of previously announced work on the Enterprise for the U.S. Navy. It describes undefinitized contract action and increases the scope of the prior contract.


Work on the aircraft carrier is underway in Newport News, Va., and is expected to be finished by January 2023. The $228.8 million award is a cost-plus-incentive-fee modification to a previous award, with roughly $133 million obligated at the time of award. It will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year, a Defense Department statement said.

The USS Enterprise will be the Navy's third Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carrier, and is scheduled to be in operation by 2027.

The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington Navy Yard, in Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity.