Hanwha Philippines Shipyard Wins U.S. Missile Test Vessel Contract...Supports Golden Dome

"2 Billion Dollars to Be Invested in Building Two Vessels," Foreign Reports Say
Accelerating MASCGA Project

The Hanwha Philippines Shipyard, acquired by Hanwha Group, has secured the contract to build the U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA)'s Maritime Range Instrumentation Vessel (MRIV).

On the 18th, Hanwha Philippines Shipyard announced that, together with the U.S. ship management firm TOTE Services, it had been selected as the provider of the MDA’s Maritime Range Instrumentation Vessel. An MRIV is a vessel that supports missile flight tests by tracking trajectories, collecting telemetry data, and analyzing communication and test results.

Hanwha Philippines Shipyard will be in charge of shipbuilding, while TOTE Services will serve as the Vessel Construction Manager (VCM). The first ship is scheduled for delivery in 2030.

A panoramic view of Hanwha Philippines Shipyard. Hanwha

While Hanwha has not revealed the specific size of the contract or number of vessels, the maritime and shipping publication Maritime Executive has reported that an investment of 2 billion dollars (approximately 3 trillion won) will be made for the construction of two vessels.

Russell Vought, Director of the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB), stated at a local event, "This new vessel will not only support the President’s policy to restore U.S. maritime dominance, but will also support the 'Golden Dome' missile defense system across the United States." The Golden Dome project is a next-generation air missile defense system, promoted as a core task for defending the U.S. mainland by the Trump Administration.

The Philippines Shipyard plans to leverage its proven production lines and supply chain, which were validated by the previously secured National Security Multi-Mission Vessel (NSMV) project, to successfully build the MRIVs.

Industry assessments note that Hanwha Group is expanding its presence in the U.S.-South Korea shipbuilding cooperation project "MASCGA" following the MRIV contract. The Philippines Shipyard is the only shipyard in the United States owned by a Korean company. U.S. President Donald Trump recently mentioned the Philippines Shipyard and noted, "Many ships will be built there," and indicated that the U.S. is considering purchasing ships separately from companies that come to build them in the United States.

The U.S. Department of Defense (formerly the Department of War) also sent a Request for Information (RFI) regarding combat vessel design and construction capabilities to Hanwha Ocean and HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, to which responses were provided.

The two countries have agreed to invest 150 billion dollars of the total 350 billion dollars in U.S.-bound investment into shipbuilding cooperation. On the 23rd of this month, the Korea-U.S. Shipbuilding Cooperation Center will open in Washington, DC.

Michael Coulter, CEO of Hanwha Defense USA, commented, "Hanwha Philippines Shipyard is continuously evolving to become the top shipbuilder in the United States."

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