The U.S. may soon turn to South Korea for help with shipbuilding. South Korea’s HD Hyundai Heavy Industries and U.S. military shipbuilder Huntington Ingalls have agreed to jointly build Navy auxiliary ships, the South Korean company said Sunday.
HD Hyundai Heavy said in a statement that in a bid to advance cooperation in shipbuilding between the two countries, HD Hyundai and Huntington Ingalls signed a memorandum of agreement in Gyeongju, South Korea, where Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) events will take place throughout next week.
HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI), based in Ulsan, South Korea, is one of the world’s largest shipbuilders and a core subsidiary of HD Hyundai Group. Founded in 1972, HHI specializes in constructing commercial vessels such as LNG carriers, tankers, and container ships, as well as naval and offshore platforms.
The company also manufactures marine engines and heavy industrial equipment while investing heavily in eco-friendly technologies like ammonia- and methanol-powered ships and digital shipyard systems. In 2024, HHI reported sales of about ₩14.5 trillion ($10.3 billion) and employed more than 14,000 people.
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According to HD Hyundai Heavy, under the agreement, the two companies will explore joint investments in building new shipyards or acquiring existing ship construction facilities in the U.S.
Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII), headquartered in Newport News, Virginia, is the largest military shipbuilding company in the United States and a major player in naval defense and ship repair.
Founded in 2011 after spinning off from Northrop Grumman, HII operates two primary divisions: Newport News Shipbuilding, which constructs nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and submarines, and Ingalls Shipbuilding, focused on amphibious assault ships, destroyers, and other surface combatants.
The company also provides maintenance, repair, and modernization services for the U.S. Navy fleet. With over 43,000 employees, HII plays a critical role in national defense, advanced engineering, and shipyard technology.
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Helping Trump revive U.S. shipbuilding, South Korea has pledged to invest $150 billion in the sector, as part of $350 billion of investment funds the Asian country agreed to put into U.S. projects after winning U.S. tariff cuts in late July.
The reported collaboration between South Korea’s HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) and the U.S. military shipbuilder Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) represents a significant development in global and U.S. naval shipbuilding. By jointly exploring investments in U.S. shipyards or acquiring existing facilities, the partnership could bolster America’s domestic shipbuilding capacity while leveraging HHI’s technological expertise and global scale.
For the U.S., the partnership could help address long-standing challenges in military shipbuilding, including capacity constraints, workforce shortages, and rising costs, while ensuring timely delivery of naval vessels critical to national defense. For South Korea, the agreement signals a deepening of economic and technological ties with the United States, backed by substantial investment pledges.