Hanwha Ocean Selected as Preferred Bidder for KDDX Lead Ship Construction

Hanwha Ocean has been selected as the preferred bidder for the detailed design and lead ship construction of the next-generation Korean destroyer, KDDX.

According to government officials on June 11, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration's proposal evaluation committee selected Hanwha Ocean by a margin of 0.5867 points. Going forward, both companies will go through follow-up procedures, including objections and verification of evaluation grounds, before one of the two is officially confirmed as the preferred bidder. The preferred bidder will engage in detailed negotiations with the Defense Acquisition Program Administration and will be responsible for the detailed design and lead ship construction of the KDDX.

The KDDX project involves the domestic construction of six 6,000-ton-class Aegis destroyers for the Navy, with a total value of approximately 7.8 trillion won. In the defense industry, it is expected that, ultimately, the two companies will split the contracts to build three ships each, or participate in a 'four ships, two ships' split. However, the company responsible for the detailed design and lead ship construction will gain the advantage of leading the overall project. Furthermore, it will be able to promote itself in the overseas export market as the company spearheading the next-generation Korean destroyer program.

In naval shipbuilding projects, the company responsible for the basic design often continues with the detailed design and lead ship construction. Initially, there was discussion of awarding the contract directly to HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, which handled the basic design. However, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries received a points deduction after its employees were convicted of leaking military secrets.

This gave Hanwha Ocean, which was not subject to any deduction, a relatively advantageous position. Some are concerned that, while Hyundai’s request for an injunction was dismissed, if it files a main lawsuit, the project could face further delays.

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