Hanwha Ocean shares rose 12.5% in Seoul after President Donald Trump said the South Korean shipbuilder will help construct a new class of US Navy warships in Philadelphia as part of a broader US-South Korea deal.
The plan features so-called Trump-class battleships, with the first vessel, USS Defiant, set to begin construction “almost immediately,” according to Trump.
Two ships have been approved, with a potential program target of up to 25, though timelines remain unclear.
Trump said the new warships will be built at the Hanwha Philly Shipyard in Philadelphia, which Hanwha Ocean acquired in 2024.
The company pledged a $5 billion investment into the facility.
Executives said the shipyard currently produces one ship a year and that many components will be made in South Korea and then assembled in the United States.
What the Trump-class program entails
At an event at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate, Navy Secretary John Phelan referred to the vessels as “Trump-class battleships.”
He described the forthcoming USS Defiant as “the largest, deadliest and most versatile, and best-looking warship anywhere on the world’s oceans.”
The Navy said the new ships would be triple the size of an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer and would be the first guided missile battleships with the ability to deploy with nuclear and hypersonic missiles.
Planned armaments include guns and missiles, hypersonic weapons, electronic rail guns, and high-powered lasers.
Trump said the United States plans to build two vessels over the next two years, then quickly add eight more before gradually expanding the fleet to about 20 to 25 ships.
Construction of the first two has been approved. The United States has not built a battleship since World War II, having shifted in past decades toward aircraft carriers and missile-equipped destroyers.
Golden Fleet strategy and industry push
The announcement fits into Trump’s broader “Golden Fleet” vision to counter China’s dominance in shipbuilding and revive US production.
He framed the initiative as part of a wider effort to expand and modernise the Navy.
Separately, the Navy moved ahead with a new class of frigates to be built by Huntington Ingalls Industries, which will be part of the Golden Fleet.
Officials say the US faces a shortfall in surface combatants of roughly one-third below required levels.
A frigate program championed during Trump’s first term was later scaled back after delays and cost overruns.
Trump also said he will press defence contractors to prioritise manufacturing capacity over shareholder payouts.
The White House is considering an executive order that would limit buybacks and dividends at major defence firms while tying executive pay more closely to the delivery of key systems.
“We’ll be discussing the pay to executives, where they’re making $45 and $50 million a year and not being able to build quickly,” he said. How enforceable such an order would be remains uncertain.
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