The US Navy has awarded an advance procurement contract to Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) to work on the navy’s third Zumwalt-class destroyer, DDG 1002.

Under the $46m contract, HII will purchase material and equipment in support of DDG 1002 advanced construction activities in addition to providing engineering and production support services.

The company is currently constructing the deckhouse, hangar and peripheral vertical launch systems for DDG 1000 and DDG 1001.

The Zumwalt-class destroyer is the US Navy’s next-generation, guided-missile naval destroyer and features a low radar profile, an integrated power system and a total ship computing environment infrastructure.

Work under the contract will be carried out at the company’s Composite Center of Excellence facility in Gulfport, Mississippi, US.

The DDG 1000 deckhouse is likely to be delivered in the second quarter of 2012.