Hanwha wins its first US Navy shipbuilding order, a $269 million medium landing ship at Philly Shipyard, two years after buying the yard

Hanwha Defense USA, the US subsidiary of Hanwha Aerospace, has secured a $269 million contract to build a medium landing ship for the US Navy^7,10.

The vessel will be built at Hanwha Philly Shipyard³. Hanwha Defense USA was named the first shipbuilder selected by TOTE Services to build a Medium Landing Ship for the Navy^4,9.

The program covers medium landing ships, known as LSMs, for the Navy and Marine Corps^6,8. Hanwha Philly Shipyard is in line for the $269 million build under that program¹³.

The contract marks Hanwha’s first US Navy shipbuilding order and includes options for three additional vessels, according to Senator McCormick’s office^1,13. The ships are for the Navy and Marine Corps program^8,13.

“This selection is a significant step forward for the Hanwha Philly Shipyard as it supports Navy and Marine Corps efforts to rebuild U.S. shipbuilding,” a statement on the award said².

Why it matters to investors

The order makes Hanwha the first South Korean group to build a landing ship for the US Navy¹².

Hanwha acquired Philly Shipyard in 2024 and subsequently invested in its workforce and technology⁶. The award comes two years after that acquisition^8,11.

The award moves a Korean-owned yard from commercial work into naval construction, which raises the question of how the two lines of business will be balanced^11,14.

The contract follows South Korea’s agreement to invest 150 billion dollars into America’s shipbuilding industry⁵. South Korea proposed the Korea-U.S. Shipbuilding Cooperation Project, known as MASGA, to the United States in July last year, and the project is now extending into US Navy vessel construction^11,12.

The shift raises questions about the future balance between military and commercial shipbuilding at one of the country’s major Jones Act yards¹⁴. China’s expanding military influence is part of the backdrop to the cooperation project¹¹.

What to watch

The first marker is whether the Navy exercises the options for three additional vessels, which would extend the order beyond the first $269 million ship^1,13.

A second is how the yard balances new naval work with its commercial shipbuilding¹⁴.

A third is how much of South Korea’s 150 billion dollar shipbuilding commitment turns into further US contracts for Korean-owned yards^5,12.