🇺🇸🇨🇳🇯🇵🇰🇷 The U.S. is thinking about using Japanese and South Korean shipyards and designs to quickly expand the size of the U.S. Navy.
A feasibility study worth $1.85 billion on outsourcing elements of warship design and construction to South Korea and Japan has been included in the FY2027 budget.
This initiative would examine adopting or co-producing advanced hulls such as Japan’s stealthy 5,500-ton Mogami-class frigates and South Korea’s 3,600-ton Daegu-class vessels to supplement the U.S. Navy.
Due to Chinese competition, the U.S. needs to vastly expand its navy but faces severe constraints in its domestic shipyard capacity, which has been plagued by labor shortages, aging infrastructure, cost overruns and maintenance backlogs for decades.
The Navy’s shipbuilding plans consistently fall short, with the fleet hovering below 300 ships against goals of 355 or more.
China’s shipbuilding capacity now dwarfs America’s.
China possesses roughly 232 times the shipbuilding tonnage capacity of the U.S. with one Chinese shipyard alone rivaling the combined output of all U.S. naval yards.
In recent years, China has delivered massive annual tonnage through its dual-use commercial-military shipyards, enabling its navy (PLAN) and coast guard (CCG) to surge ahead in hull numbers—now exceeding 370 warships for the PLAN alone, with projections toward 460 by 2030.
In contrast, U.S. output remains minimal, often under 0.1% of global commercial tonnage amid delays on programs like Virginia-class submarines and Constellation-class frigates.
Japan and South Korea stand ready to help bridge this gap significantly.
As the world’s second- and third-largest shipbuilders (South Korea on 28% and Japan at 15% of global output), they excel in efficient, high-quality naval construction.
Their yards deliver warships faster and at lower cost than U.S. facilities, with strong track records in modular building and technology transfer.
Partnering with Tokyo and Seoul would accelerate U.S. fleet expansion but would require legal changes, as the U.S. Navy is legally required to build its vessels in American shipyards, with only minor exceptions.