South Korean-owned US yard lands $2bn Pentagon ship deal
A South Korean-owned shipyard has secured a $2 billion Pentagon contract to build missile-tracking vessels, underscoring America's reliance on foreign industrial capacity to modernize its maritime defense network.
Hanwha Philly Shipyard has secured a $2 billion contract from the Pentagon to construct two missile-tracking vessels for the Missile Defense Agency. The award, announced by White House Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought, marks a significant expansion of the South Korean conglomerate’s footprint in the American defense industrial base.
The vessels will replace the Pacific Tracker and Pacific Collector, which were originally constructed in 1965 and 1970, respectively. The first of the new Missile Range Instrumentation Vessels, named the "Golden Defender," is scheduled for delivery in June 2030.
Vought explicitly tied the contract to broader U.S. strategic goals. “This new ship will not only support the President’s policy of restoring America’s Maritime Dominance, but also support the President’s ‘Golden Dome’ missile defense system over the entirety of our nation,” Vought said during a Friday ceremony.
For European defense contractors and investors, the deal underscores the United States' ongoing struggle to meet its own naval shipbuilding demands without turning to foreign-owned entities. While European governments fiercely protect and subsidize their domestic maritime defense sectors, Washington is increasingly relying on a subsidiary of Seoul-based Hanwha Group to fulfill critical missile defense infrastructure needs.
Hanwha Philly will execute the contract in collaboration with TOTE Services, which will serve as the vessel construction manager. The two companies have already proven their working relationship by delivering four National Security Multi-Mission Vessels to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration. A fifth vessel is scheduled for delivery in 2027.
Vought announced the missile-tracking contract during the christening of that fourth multi-mission vessel, the Lone Star State, which will be used to train merchant mariners at Texas A&M Maritime Academy.
The new ships are specifically designed to monitor and collect data on ballistic missile tests in the Pacific Ocean. As the U.S. pours capital into its missile defense architecture, the contract signals that Asian industrial giants with established American subsidiaries are well-positioned to capture billions in upcoming Pentagon shipbuilding budgets.
