The United States is considering frigate designs from Japan, South Korea and Turkey for a new class of warships, according to US media reports. The proposals are linked to plans to rely partly on foreign shipbuilding capacity as US demand outpaces the country’s shipbuilding industry.
The move follows a National Security Presidential Memorandum signed by President Donald Trump on August 13, which calls for using foreign shipbuilding capacity and investment. USNI News, cited by Korea Times, says the White House and US Navy are weighing a competitive process that could involve building up to two ships in foreign shipyards before transitioning production to US yards.
Both outlets describe potential political hurdles. Korea Times notes that this approach would break with more than a century of US domestic naval construction and could face opposition in Congress, while South China Morning Post similarly reports that lawmakers are likely to resist the procurement plan. The specific design contenders highlighted include South Korea’s Chungnam-class guided-missile frigate, Japan’s export version of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries’ FFM Mogami-class, and Turkey’s Istanbul-class guided-missile frigate.
