After setbacks in bids for submarines in Poland and Canada following the Australian frigate program, Korean shipbuilders are seeking a rebound in Southeast Asia. Hanwha Ocean and HD Hyundai Heavy Industries plan to expand their market share in Southeast Asia and then, over the long term, target the larger U.S. market.
According to the shipbuilding industry on the 13th, Hanwha Ocean on the 8th (local time) was selected as the preferred negotiation partner for the Royal Thai Navy's new frigate procurement program, beating HD Hyundai Heavy Industries and Spanish defense corporations. The project is worth 16.73 billion baht (about 680.7 billion won) and covers not only ship construction but also follow-on support such as parts supply, training, testing and inspection, and warranty.
The Thai government is pursuing a plan to introduce a total of four new ships, including this frigate, by investing 3 trillion to 4 trillion won.
Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering, the predecessor of Hanwha Ocean, delivered the 3,700-ton-class frigate Phutthayotfa Chulalok to the Royal Thai Navy in Dec. 2018. With a top speed of about 30 knots (55 kph) and a range of 4,000 nautical miles, it is a main combatant of the Royal Thai Navy, equipped with anti-ship and surface-to-air missiles, torpedoes, and naval guns.
Hanwha Ocean won the latest frigate program by fronting the new Ocean-40F, a product that reflects the Royal Thai Navy's requirements learned from operating the previously delivered ship.
An industry official said, "In the Australian general-purpose frigate program that Hanwha Ocean and HD Hyundai Heavy Industries pursued in 2024, both companies failed to win the order because they did not present a design tailored to the Royal Australian Navy's requirements," adding, "Hanwha Ocean appears to have leveraged that experience to reflect the Royal Thai Navy's requirements as much as possible and improve the performance of the existing ship, leading to the win."
HD Hyundai Heavy Industries is also strengthening its foothold in Southeast Asia based in the Philippines. Like Hanwha Ocean, it aims to win orders for new, upgraded ships by appealing to the Philippines' experience operating ships previously delivered.
After signing its first frigate supply contract with the Philippine Navy in 2016, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries has won orders for a total of 12 ships, including frigates, patrol vessels, and offshore patrol vessels (OPVs), and has delivered six. On top of that, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries aims to win the Philippine government's program to procure two Korea-made missile frigates.
After boosting their share in the Southeast Asian market, the next market Korean shipbuilders are eyeing over the long term is the United States.
Korean frigates are being reviewed as candidates for the U.S. Navy's next frigate alongside Japan's export variant of the Mogami class and Türkiye's Istanbul class. The model Korea is putting forward is the Ulsan-class Batch III, the Chungnam-class frigate. It is 129 meters long, 14.8 meters wide, 38.9 meters high, and has a standard displacement of around 3,600 tons. The U.S. Navy wants to introduce a ship in a similar class.
The first Ulsan-class Batch III was built by HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, and ships two through four were built by SK oceanplant. Ships five and six are under construction by Hanwha Ocean. All three companies have responded to the U.S. government's request for information (RFI). They plan to quickly reflect in the existing design the weapons and combat systems the United States requires, as well as local construction and maintenance conditions.
Korean shipbuilders are also known to be in contact with Greece, Chile, and Egypt regarding naval ship programs. Although many countries have not yet formalized their programs, there is ongoing movement in the so-called "tapping" stage, in which companies and procuring nations explore conditions with an eye toward possible future ship acquisitions.
An industry official said, "Recent naval ship bids have shifted away from competitions that simply pit performance and price against each other to comprehensive evaluations that include experience operating existing weapons systems, tailored designs, and plans for cooperation with local industries," adding, "The same goes not only for frigates but also for submarine programs."
Industry officials expect that even in submarine exports, the failures accumulated so far will become an asset. They said that although Korea failed to win orders in Poland's Orka program last year and Canada's submarine program this year, the competition helped showcase the technology of Korean submarines overseas.
The Dosan Ahn Changho class (KSS-III) Submarine, the predecessor of the models proposed for the two programs, demonstrated sustained submerged endurance by sailing long distances from Korea to Canada, and also proved design and construction capabilities to integrate various missiles into a submarine.
A defense industry official said, "Among countries that are pushing for or considering introducing frigates recently, some are also showing interest in strengthening their submarine forces," adding, "We can expand the business scope beyond a one-off ship export to submarines and maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO)."