Northrop Grumman Newport News teamed with The Mariners' Museum, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the U.S. Navy to build a full-scale replica of the Civil War ironclad USS Monitor. The ship was christened on June 11, 2006, by Nancy Petters, the ship’s sponsor and wife of Northrop Grumman Newport News President Mike Petters.

Employees from Northrop Grumman's Newport News sector built the replica in 22 steel sections inside the shipyard's steel production facility from Navy-donated materials. These sections were transported to the museum, where they were welded together to form the ship's hull. The replica will be the centerpiece of the $30 million USS Monitor Center at The Mariners' Museum in Newport News, Va.