US weighs offshore warship production due to industrial limits
Hanwha acquired Philly Shipyard in a US$100 million deal, expanding its global shipbuilding footprint and bringing naval technologies to the US market. (Photo: Hanwha)
A Pentagon push to procure warships from Japanese and South Korean shipyards could reshape allied naval industrial strategy, but critics warn the approach risks hollowing out the domestic base Washington is seeking to restore.
The US government is actively exploring the procurement of surface combatants from allied shipyards in Japan and South Korea; a move that, if realised, would mark the most significant shift in American naval industrial policy in more than a century and open opportunities for a select group of Indo-Pacific shipbuilders.
Among the companies positioned to benefit are South Korea’s Hanwha Ocean, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (HD HHI) and Samsung Heavy Industries, alongside Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI), Kawasaki Heavy Industries (KHI) and Japan Marine United (JMU).
MHI and HD HHI were contacted for comment but had not responded at the
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