en.Wedoany.com Reported - The US Pentagon plans to build a naval vessel at a commercial shipyard in South Korea or Japan to alleviate its own shipbuilding capacity constraints, while enhancing defense cooperation with allies and countering China's military rise in the region. According to Breaking Defense, a US defense-focused media outlet, the budget for this plan has been included in a funding coordination bill totaling $350 billion, with $1.85 billion specifically allocated for the Navy to support this collaborative construction project and related assessments. This funding will be used to evaluate whether allied shipyards are capable of building cruisers, destroyers, and frigates in the future.
Under the specific plan disclosed by the US, Washington will fund the construction of basic hull structures for up to two vessels in South Korea or Japan. This includes hull construction and the installation of mechanical and electrical systems. In subsequent phases, US defense contractors will integrate combat command systems and other military equipment domestically to ensure control over core technologies. The US has previously applied a similar technology transfer model in a icebreaker project with Finland, where the first vessel was built in Finland and subsequent production was moved to a shipyard in Louisiana, USA.
A White House Office of Management and Budget official told Breaking Defense that South Korean and Japanese shipyards have a clear price advantage over US domestic shipbuilders in constructing advanced warships. By attracting foreign shipyards to compete, the US can expand its naval forces while effectively controlling overall construction costs. Potential industry partners include South Korea's HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, Hanwha Ocean, Samsung Heavy Industries, as well as Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Kawasaki Heavy Industries, and Japan Marine United Corporation.
The macro backdrop driving this US initiative is the contrast between China's growing military power and the US's own shipbuilding capacity bottlenecks. Currently, South Korean shipbuilders have gradually deepened their cooperation with the US Navy by signing ship repair, maintenance, and overhaul contracts, as well as acquiring local US shipyards. However, the official emphasized that this subcontracting strategy is not intended to permanently shift large-scale shipbuilding capacity overseas, but rather to encourage foreign shipyards to invest in the US domestic shipbuilding industry, thereby substantially strengthening its indigenous shipbuilding capabilities.
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