Ingalls is building the composite deckhouse and hangar for the DDG-1000 class at the company’s Composite Center of Excellence in Gulfport, Miss.

Made almost exclusively using cored composite construction processes, the deckhouse and hangar take full advantage of the properties of carbon fiber materials and balsa wood cores.

When cured, the composite structure is as strong as steel but requires little maintenance and is very lightweight.

These attributes reduce maintenance costs over the lifespan of the ship due to its corrosion resistance in the marine environment and allow for improved hull stability, more payload and increased ship speeds, the company contends. The Gulfport facility also builds composite masts for the Navy’s LPD-17 San Antonio class of amphibious ships.