Northrop Grumman Ship Systems (NGSS), headquartered in Pascagoula, Mississippi, was formed on August 1, 1999, and includes Ingalls Operations, also in Pascagoula, and Avondale Operations, in New Orleans and Tallulah, Louisiana, and Gulfport, Mississippi. NGSS, which currently employs more than 17,000 shipbuilding professionals, primarily in Mississippi and Louisiana, is one of the nation's leading full service systems companies for the design, engineering, construction, and life cycle support of major surface ships for the U.S. Navy, U.S. Coast Guard and international navies, and for commercial vessels of all types. NGSS has a firm business backlog exceeding $5.6 billion, in a variety of naval and commercial shipbuilding programs.