Hanwha of South Korea has won its first order to build medium landing ships for the U.S. Navy. Under the contract, construction of 1 vessel will begin in 2027 at Philly Shipyard in the United States, with options for 3 additional vessels.
Hanwha of South Korea has secured a contract to build LSM medium landing ships for the U.S. Navy. The contract is worth $269 million, and construction will be handled by Hanwha Philly Shipyard in Pennsylvania. The newbuild contract is Hanwha's first major U.S. Navy order since it acquired Philly Shipyard in December 2024. Construction is scheduled to begin in the October to December 2027 quarter.
The contract will be carried out under an arrangement in which shipbuilding management is entrusted to a specialist company. The U.S. Navy has adopted a model under which the selection of the shipyard and construction management are entrusted to a specialist company. Following a competitive tender, TOTE Services selected Hanwha Defense USA and signed the contract.
The U.S. Navy plans to introduce a total of 35 LSMs, with delivery of the lead ship targeted for 2030. Hanwha intends to use this project as a foothold for full-scale entry into the U.S. Navy vessel market and plans to advance workforce development and capital investment to secure orders for follow-on vessels.
The LSM is a landing ship designed for the U.S. Navy to conduct distributed operations along the coast. It is approximately 100 meters long and 16 meters wide, has a light displacement of approximately 2,687 tonnes and a range of approximately 7,400 km. It will be procured based on the LST-100 design developed by the Netherlands' Damen. Philly Shipyard has previously built 4 vessels in cooperation with TOTE Services, strengthening its foundation for entering the naval business.