The U.S. Department of Transportation will spend $2 billion to build two new military ships at the Hanwha Philly Shipyard, officials said recently.
Using funding from the Working Families Tax Cut Act, the two new Missile Range Instrumentation Vessels will be used to replace two 50-year-old ships that are part of the U.S. Department of War’s Missile Defense Agency fleet. The announcement, from U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and White House Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought said the shipbuilding process will be expedited with DOT’s proven vessel commercial management model.
“The Maritime Administration’s proven vessel construction management model has a powerful track record of delivering critical maritime assets on time and on budget,” Maritime Administrator Stephen M. Carmel said. “We are honored to collaborate across the maritime sector to ensure America’s maritime dominance for generations to come.”
The state-of-the-art vessels will provide the military with advanced tracking capabilities to observe missile interception tests over the Pacific Ocean, gather mission-critical data and support range safety operations, officials said.
“Under President Trump’s leadership, a new era of American Maritime Dominance and reindustrialization is finally well underway,” Vought said. “This administration has embarked on a whole-of-government effort to make shipbuilding great again, which is already bearing fruit. It’s an honor to represent the administration today along with Secretary Duffy, who is doing great work steering the Department of Transportation’s key role in this effort.”
The announcement came as Duffy and Vought celebrated the christening of the DOT’s fourth national security multi-mission vessel (NSMV) – Lone Star State – that will be used to train merchant mariners at Texas A&M Maritime Academy. The vessels, built by TOTE Services, were delivered on time and on budget, with a fifth one scheduled for delivery in 2027. TOTE Services has been contracted to manage the shipbuilding process under the vessel construction management model.