When U.S. President Donald Trump announced his new battleship class on Dec. 22, he also said that South Korea’s Hanwha industrial firm is a partner in the U.S. Navy’s program to build a new class of frigates as part of a joint U.S.-Korea shipbuilding project known as “Make American Shipbuilding Great Again,” or MASGA. Hanwha’s ambitions go further: It aims to expand its Philadelphia shipyard to eventually build nuclear-powered submarines.
Hanwha executives say groundwork—workforce growth, facility upgrades, and technology transfers modeled on South Korean yards—is already underway, reported the Korea Herald on Dec. 25. The company plans to invest $5 billion to raise output from about 1.5 ships per year to 20.
Some analysts are skeptical.
Industry sources cited by the Korea JoongAng Daily point to workforce shortages, weak U.S. infrastructure, and legal barriers for foreign firms building U.S. Navy ships, despite the massive investment. Critics argue the cost highlights how fragile U.S. shipbuilding has become, with one industry insider noting that a yard producing 15 ships a year would be considered modest in Korea. The industry source told the publication, “A shipyard capable of producing 15 ships a year would be considered a small-to-mid-sized facility in Korea, yet building such a facility in the United States will cost more than 7 trillion won [$5 billion].”
The overhaul could take five to seven years, raising doubts about whether it fits Trump’s accelerated “Golden Fleet” timeline. Hanwha is still seeking key U.S. licenses to handle classified naval technologies. Trump’s public backing may help, although Congress removed language from the defense bill that would have promoted bilateral shipbuilding cooperation.
