Fairbanks Morse Defense signs agreement with HD Hyundai for future teaming on naval programs

The world’s largest aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) transits the Mediterranean Sea, Aug. 21, 2023. Gerald R. Ford is the U.S. Navy’s newest and most advanced aircraft carrier, representing a generational leap in the U.S. Navy’s capacity to project power on a global scale.  (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Jackson Adkins)

SEA AIR SPACE 2025 — Fairbanks Morse Defense and Korean shipbuilding heavyweight HD Hyundai Heavy Industries have agreed to explore opportunities for future tie-ups on international navy programs, the companies announced today.

The companies’ memorandum of understanding, signed today at the Sea Air Space conference, is the latest example of teaming between the US maritime industry and foreign shipbuilders based in South Korea or Japan — a key line of effort for the US Navy, which wants to strengthen the US shipbuilding industrial base through greater international investment and partnerships.

“There’s a lot of industrial constraints in the US, and so we’re going to have to look outside and see what else is out there,” Fairbanks Morse CEO George Whittier said in an interview with Breaking Defense. “That doesn’t mean we’re going to say Koreans should build all of our ships. We’re certainly not advocating that. But we are saying, ‘Hey, where are things that they’re doing well that we can learn from them? What are some things that we’re doing well that they can learn from us? And how do we kind of put that together?’”

The MOU will allow the companies to pursue collaboration in parts sales and distribution, equipment licensing, and component manufacturing — giving Fairbanks Morse an entry point to sell its products to the South Korean navy, while also expanding the portfolio of parts it can offer the US Navy to include offerings from HD HHI, Fairbanks Morse said in a news release.

The agreement is the first major international partnership for Fairbanks Morse, which split from EnPro Industries in 2020 to form an independent, privately held firm focused on building critical components for naval ships such as engines, propulsion systems, fans and valves. Over the past five years, the Wisconsin-based company has acquired 13 companies — the transaction for its latest buy of Rolls Royce’s naval propulsor and handling business, is slated to close this summer — but about 90 percent of its work has been for US customers, Whittier said.

“As we continue to want to try to grow the company, we have to start looking outside of our shores,” he said. Fairbanks Morse has “a couple of specific areas of focus” in mind for its partnership with HD Hyundai, he added, but declined to lay out specific areas of cooperation under consideration.

Fairbank Morse’s longstanding relationships with the US Navy make it an ideal partner for future collaboration, Won Ho Joo, chief executive of HD Hyundai’s naval and special ship business unit, said in a statement.

“Hyundai Heavy Industries has been constructing high-quality ships for the Republic of Korea for over 50 years, and we believe our expertise can significantly contribute to the U.S. Navy,” he said.

HD Hyundai — South Korea’s largest shipbuilder — is no stranger to partnerships with US defense firms. On Monday, it inked an MOU with American shipbuilding giant HII “to explore opportunities to collaborate on accelerating ship production in support of defense and commercial shipbuilding projects,” the companies said in a news release.

Last year, the company announced a teaming agreement with California-based defense tech firm Anduril on autonomous systems.