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The Trump administration has selected the Hanwha Philly Shipyard to build next-generation Missile Range Instrument Vessels that will track flight and telemetry data as part of the Golden Dome missile defense initiative.
The new MRIV, built for the U.S. Missile Defense Agency, will replace the SS Pacific Tracker and SS Pacific Collector, which were constructed in 1965 and 1970. TOTE Services Inc. will serve as the vessel construction manager for the project.
“This new ship will not only support [President Trump’s] policy of restoring America’s maritime dominance, but also support the president’s ’Golden Dome’ missile defense system over the entirety of our nation,” Russell Vought, head of the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, said Friday during a visit to the shipyard to christen the Lone Star State National Security Multi-Mission Vessel.
As the prime contractor, TOTE Services will have direct responsibility for managing the design of the missile-tracking ship — dubbed the Golden Defender — by issuing shipyard subcontracts and overseeing construction and delivery.
Officials said it is unique for the U.S. government to use this model because it bypasses traditionally rigid bureaucratic procurement procedures by leveraging commercial best practices to cut costs and speed up schedules.
The contract, estimated at $2 billion for two missile-tracking ships, marks Hanwha Philly Shipyard’s entry into U.S. national security shipbuilding.
“These two new vessels — built by American patriots in the city our nation was founded in — will equip our military to better protect the nation and our servicemembers from foreign threats,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said. “Our department will continue its work to rekindle America’s maritime heritage and build ships at the speed of Trump.”
The Hanwha Philly Shipyard is the centerpiece of the U.S. shipbuilding partnership with South Korea. Hanwha Ocean and Hanwha System, major affiliates of South Korea’s Hanwha Group conglomerate, bought the shipyard in 2004 for about $100 million.
The shipyard supplies about 50% of the largest U.S. commercial vessels and builds ships that are compliant with the Jones Act, a federal law that requires vessels for domestic trade to be built in the U.S.
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