Huntington Ingalls Industries has completed the first phase of its Unmanned Systems Center of Excellence with the construction of a 22,000-square-foot facility. The first of two planned buildings on the 20-acre campus in Hamptobn, Virginia will be used to assemble hull structures for Boeing’s Orca Extra Large Unmanned Undersea Vehicle (XLUUV) program for the U.S. Navy. Construction began in September 2020, following a event with special guests, including Gov. Ralph Northam and other state and local government officials. Structural development of the main facility, a 135,000-square-foot building, is scheduled to be complete by the end of 2021. The purpose-built, facility will be used for unmanned systems prototyping, production and testing. HII partnered with the Virginia Economic Development Partnership, the city of Hampton and the Hampton Roads Alliance to secure the project. More than 250 high quality jobs will be created to support unmanned systems design and production at the facility. Employees began working in the first building on Dec. 28, 2020.