HD Hyundai is strengthening its foothold in the American defense market through a new partnership with Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII), the largest military shipbuilder in the United States. The South Korean company signed a memorandum of understanding with HII at the Sea-Air-Space 2025 exhibition in Washington on April 7.
The agreement focuses on maximizing production efficiency, reducing construction costs, and improving delivery times for naval vessels. This collaboration will promote process automation and introduce robotics and artificial intelligence technologies to develop digital shipyards.
The partnership comes as the United States seeks to counter China’s growing dominance in shipbuilding. A January U.S. Trade Representative’s investigation found China’s position in the sector “unreasonable” and “actionable” under American trade laws.
“Today’s agreement reflects our commitment to explore all opportunities to expand U.S. shipbuilding capacity in support of national security,” said Brian Blanchette, Executive Vice President and President of Ingalls Shipbuilding.
Beyond this primary agreement, HD Hyundai secured additional partnerships with the American Bureau of Shipping for design certification of lightweight logistics support ships for the U.S. Navy and with Fairbanks Morse Defense for local supply chain cooperation.
The strategic timing coincides with President Donald Trump’s reaffirmation of his commitment to approve a US$1 trillion defense budget for the U.S. Navy.
