It comes after Trump signed a memorandum calling for foreign shipbuilding capacity and investment as US industry struggles to meet demand
Washington is considering using Japanese, South Korean or Turkish frigate designs to expand the country’s naval fleet as the American shipbuilding industry struggles to meet demand, according to US media reports.
The move comes after President Donald Trump signed a National Security Presidential Memorandum on August 13 calling for the use of foreign shipbuilding capacity and investment.
If it goes ahead, it would be the first time th US has bought a major surface combatant from a foreign partner since World War II.
I think it’s smart to get frigates from South Korea. They have some good designs. Possibly even destroyers, though I’d rather we finish DDG(X) ourselves. The BBG that has been proposed is too expensive for what you get (i.e. we could buy several destroyers for the same price, and get more firepower for the money). It’s flashy, but really doesn’t make sense.
We need to open/expand our shipyards to support this. Which would be good for jobs, also.
They tell us we lack capacity and manpower in ship building. Places like Korea have capacity and probably much lower costs. And they can deliver faster.
You worry about US defence technology going elsewhere but maybe not a concern for support vessels. Helps Navy get more ships sooner.
But yes still need more capacity for aircraft carriers and submarines. The long delays in servicing Navy ships is also a concern. Again lack of capacity. Clearly not ready for a war.
Budget seems to be a limitation. Under funded. The peace dividend went to far. Now we are called on to spend more to rebuild needed capacity.
I didn’t mention that, but it’s a good point. Even smaller vessels have state-of-the-art systems that we probably don’t want out of our control (even with allies).
If we restore our shipyards, it will be a boon for jobs. Also, domestic production eliminates the threat of foreign interdiction in our ability to produce materiel. We should be able to make everything defense-related HERE. If a key missile component is made in Taiwan, the supply could be threatened (e.g. China). If it’s made in Texas, nobody can interdict. It’s a mistake to rely on foreign sources for defense components and materiel. Even worse if we forget how to make it at all.