[Exclusive] Hanwha Ocean to Complete Nuclear Submarine Design This Year

After Completing Basic Design, ROC and Costs to Be Calculated for Budget Allocation
Trump Points to Philly Shipyard for Nuclear Submarine Construction, Coordination Needed

It has been confirmed that Hanwha Ocean plans to complete the basic design phase for the nuclear-powered submarine development project within this year. The government's announcement that nuclear submarines will be "developed and built domestically in the Republic of Korea" comes as domestic defense shipbuilding companies have already reached about half of the construction stage.

According to government officials on May 27, the Agency for Defense Development (ADD) signed a basic design contract with Hanwha Ocean in 2022. In order to build a vessel, the process must go through conceptual design, basic design, detailed design, and construction of the first ship. The project has already taken its first steps. Hanwha Ocean plans to finish the basic design by the end of this year and calculate the required operational capability (ROC) and construction costs. If the government reflects the budget starting next year, the detailed design phase can begin.

President Lee Jae-myung is listening to Defense Minister Ahn Kyu-baek's report on the basic plan for the development of a nuclear-powered submarine at the 1st Future Defense Strategy Committee held on the 26th in Jinhae-gu, Changwon City, Gyeongnam. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

Inside and outside the military, the construction of a small reactor to be mounted on the nuclear submarine is seen as having made significant progress with domestic technology. In the industry, there is speculation that a land-based test facility for the reactor will be built in Gyeongju City. It is known that the reactor construction is being led by ADD, with participation from Doosan Enerbility, the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, and Korea Electric Power Corporation.

With the design of the nuclear submarine progressing to a certain extent, the government has announced plans to launch the first nuclear-powered submarine in the mid-2030s and have it operational by the late 2030s. The government specified that construction would take place at a domestic shipyard, effectively pointing to the Hanwha Ocean Geoje Shipyard. Hanwha Ocean is the shipbuilder that has constructed the most submarines in Korea, having built the Jangbogo-I (1,200-ton class), Jangbogo-II (1,800-ton class), and Jangbogo-III Batch-II (3,000-ton class) submarines.

However, there is a possibility that U.S. President Donald Trump could attempt to block domestic construction. After the Korea-U.S. summit at the end of October last year, President Trump stated, "It will be built at the Philadelphia Shipyard in the United States." However, the Philadelphia Shipyard, acquired by Hanwha, has no experience in building nuclear submarines. In the United States, the only companies that actually design and build nuclear submarines are General Dynamics Electric Boat (GDEB) and Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII). Building nuclear submarines at the Philadelphia Shipyard would require further investment. Not only is there no land-based assembly facility, but new infrastructure—including dedicated facilities, radiation shielding structures, and highly skilled welding personnel required for nuclear submarine construction—would need to be established from scratch.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.