Hanwha wins first US Navy contract under MASGA push

Hanwha Group has landed its first US Navy contract as a subcontractor on a next-generation logistics ship program, marking a major milestone in the conglomerate's push into the American defense market.

The group’s US subsidiaries, Hanwha Defense USA and Hanwha Philly Shipyard, will partner with Vard Marine US, the US subsidiary of shipbuilder Vard Group, to support market research, concept design and refinement for the Next Generation Logistics Ship, or NGLS.

The NGLS, also known as the light replenishment oiler, is a newly developed mid-sized auxiliary vessel used for refueling, rearming and resupplying combat ships.

Hanwha will support manufacturing assessments, commercial construction practices and production cost analysis, the company said in a statement Tuesday. The contract includes options for additional functional design planning and special studies.

Concept design is the initial stage that takes place before construction gets underway, in which contractors examine what type of vessel can be built, with what capabilities and at what cost.

The US Navy is pitting two teams against one another for the design stage: one led by General Dynamics NASSCO, a major US defense shipbuilder, and another led by Vard Marine in cooperation with Hanwha.

Once the concept phase wraps up, it will proceed to detailed design stages before a separate construction contract is awarded. The US Navy plans to procure 13 vessels under the program.

While the current concept design remains an early-stage process and does not guarantee a role in construction, it nonetheless marks significant progress for Hanwha because it has secured access to highly sensitive US Navy warship design work.

The contract is the first US Navy project secured by Hanwha Defense USA since its founding and the first won by Hanwha since its acquisition of the Philly Shipyard in December 2024. The group acquired Philly Shipyard in Philadelphia for $100 million and has since invested more than $200 million to upgrade its workforce, capabilities and production capacity.

“Hanwha is proud to partner with Vard in the design and integration of the Next Generation Logistics Ship for the US Navy,” said Tom Anderson, president of shipbuilding at Hanwha Defense USA. “This award represents an important step in our ability to leverage our world-class shipbuilding expertise in building the ships the Navy needs to support our service members deployed in contested maritime domains.”

Observers say the deal could open the door for Hanwha to expand its shipbuilding and defense footprint across the US, the world’s largest defense market, where demand for new naval vessels is expected to remain strong.

According to a January report from the Congressional Research Service, the US Navy is projected to spend an average of $35.8 billion per year on new ship construction over the next three decades.

The deal comes amid US President Donald Trump's push to revive America’s shipbuilding industry, in which Hanwha Group has emerged as a key partner.

In December, Trump called Hanwha a “good company” and said the firm would work with the US Navy on the construction of new frigates, a new class of combat vessels that are smaller and more agile, designed to complement larger, multimission warships.

The project also marks the first time a South Korean company has secured a US naval project since last year's launch of the bilateral shipbuilding cooperation initiative known as "Make American Shipbuilding Great Again," or MASGA.

With this deal in place, MASGA — South Korea's $150 billion investment commitment to the US shipbuilding sector — appears to be gaining real momentum, with industry watchers expecting additional shipbuilding announcements to follow in the months ahead.