South Korean ship builder Hyundai Heavy Industries has offered to build Aegis destroyers for the US to augment Washington’s warship building efforts.
A Hyundai Heavy Industries official made the offer at the Sea Air Space conference 2025, wherein the company signed a memorandum of understanding with Fairbanks Morse Defense.
“We have over 250 engineers who can design and build Aegis ships with the same performance as the US,” South Korean Chosun quoted the unnamed official as saying.
Hyundai Heavy Industries Specialized Ship Business Division managing director Woo-man Jeong added that the firm could produce up to five warships similar to the US Navy’s Arleigh Burke-class destroyer (9,800 tons) per year.
Aegis Warship
Hyundai Heavy Industries is the only Korean shipbuilder capable of integrating the Aegis Combat System onto a vessel. It has built four Aegis ships for the Korean Navy.
The Aegis is a total weapon system, featuring a centralized, automated, command-and-control and weapons control system.
It is integral to the US Navy’s air defense capability and as an escort ship for aircraft carriers. The US Navy’s Arleigh Burke-class destroyers and Ticonderoga-class cruisers are equipped with the Aegis.
US Navy’s Expansion Plan
The announcement comes as the US Navy is playing catch up with China’s People’s Liberation Army Navy to have the largest naval fleet in the world.
According to a Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency report, Washington plans to spend an estimated $30 billion annually to expand its fleet size from 296 to 381 by 2054.
It requires building an estimated 364 new warships over the next three decades at a rate of 12 per annum, incorporating vessel decommissioning.
However, the US ship building capacity has declined considerable over the last many years due to a host of reasons, including lack of shipyard capacity.
Hyundai Sees Opportunity
Sensing an opportunity, Hyundai Heavy Industries is stitching together alliances with US firms to increase its foothold in the American shipbuilding industry.
Days after forging an alliance with Wisconsin-based Fairbanks Morse Defense, the Korean giant inked a strategic partnership with the largest military shipbuilding company in the US, Huntington Ingalls Industries, or HII.
“Today’s agreement reflects our commitment to explore all opportunities to expand U.S. shipbuilding capacity in support of national security,” HII Executive Vice President Brian Blanchette said following the signing.
“By working with our shipbuilding allies and sharing best practices, we believe this MOU offers real potential to help accelerate delivery of quality ships.”
Additionally, it struck a strategic partnership agreement with the US defense contractor Anduril Industries last year to design and produce autonomous naval systems.
