Two years after Hanwha's acquisition, Philly Shipyard cements role as US security partner

Nearly two years after Hanwha acquired Philly Shipyard in 2024, the Philadelphia-based yard is emerging as a key US security partner, landing a string of contracts tied directly to American defense priorities. Analysts say the back-to-back wins are positioning Philly Shipyard as the central hub of MASGA, the Korea-US shipbuilding cooperation initiative.

Philly Shipyard recently won a contract from the US Missile Defense Agency to build Missile Range Instrumentation Vessels (MRIV), industry sources said Tuesday. The exact number of hulls was not disclosed, but foreign media have estimated the order covers two vessels.

An MRIV supports missile flight tests by tracking trajectories, collecting telemetry data, handling communications and analyzing test results. The vessel type is considered essential to building the Golden Dome, the United States' next-generation airborne missile defense system. The first MRIV Philly Shipyard builds is scheduled for delivery in 2030.

Han Seung-han, a researcher at SK Securities, said the contract "signals that Philly Shipyard has firmly aligned itself with the Trump administration's drive to restore defense and maritime dominance."

Philly Shipyard is also set to win a contract for National Security Multi-Role Vessels (NSMV). President Donald Trump announced Wednesday that $1.5 billion would be committed to building NSMVs at Philly Shipyard. Based on the scale of the yard's previous NSMV contract, analysts estimate the new order covers five vessels.

Before Hanwha's acquisition, Philly Shipyard had won a contract from the US Maritime Administration for five NSMVs between 2020 and 2022. Three of those vessels have been delivered. The fourth is scheduled for delivery this year, and the fifth next year.

In March, Philly Shipyard signed a cooperation agreement with Hanwha Defense USA and VARD, a naval and special-purpose vessel design firm, to work on a concept design contract for the US Navy's Next Generation Logistics Ship (NGLS). The deal marked the first US Navy contract Hanwha secured since acquiring Philly Shipyard in 2024.

Since the acquisition, Philly Shipyard had primarily built vessels ordered by Hanwha Shipping, the US shipping arm of Hanwha Ocean. Those orders comprised 10 medium-sized oil tankers and two LNG carriers.

The recent run of US security-related contracts is elevating the yard's profile as a MASGA hub. South Korean shipbuilders have previously performed maintenance, repair and overhaul work on US naval vessels, but none had won a shipbuilding contract directly from the US government until now. Han said the wins prove that "Hanwha is the furthest ahead among Korean investors in the MASGA-related space."

Analysts say Hanwha's aggressive investment since the acquisition has been the driving force behind Philly Shipyard's growing stature in the United States. The company has poured more than $200 million into the yard to expand production capacity and build up the local workforce. Hanwha plans to invest $5 billion by 2030 to raise the yard's annual shipbuilding capacity from roughly 1.5 vessels to 20.

For the United States, Hanwha's investment is welcome news. With the country's shipbuilding industry in decline and the number of available yards limited, Philly Shipyard's growth — backed by Hanwha's full support — fills a critical gap. Hanwha also plans to introduce robots to the dry dock to boost the yard's shipbuilding capacity.

Philly Shipyard's longer-term goal is to build US Navy warships. Under the Byrnes-Tollefson Act, US naval vessels must be built domestically. Among shipyards currently operated by Korean companies, Philly Shipyard is the only one eligible to build US warships.

Trump has recently raised the possibility of building US warships at foreign shipyards, but significant obstacles remain, including resistance from domestic workers. Last month, the US House Armed Services Committee passed a fiscal year 2027 National Defense Authorization Act bill that includes a provision banning the construction of US Navy vessels at overseas shipyards.