South Korea, US explore joint ship, weapons maintenance opportunities

MANILA, Philippines — South Korea and the United States are exploring whether the former’s defense industry could help maintain, repair and overhaul the latter’s warships and weapons, according to a series of news releases from South Korea’s Defense Ministry.

The two countries have held talks about ships for a year now, but only in December did they begin discussing MRO services for weapons as well.

“If weapons used by the U.S. military in the Indo-Pacific can be maintained domestically, the domestic [MRO] industry capabilities can be expanded and maintenance periods can be shortened,” the ministry noted.

Indeed, the U.S. Navy has expressed interest in improving maintenance efforts . In an overseas war, the Navy would tow ships into a foreign port.

Rear Adm. William Greene, who is in charge of surface ship maintenance, said the service has an eye on preparing for battle damage. The Navy in recent years incorporated battle damage into major exercises, putting decommissioned ships out to sea and detonating explosives onboard so sailors can practice towing ships back to port and running battle damage assessment and repairs.

Vice Adm. James Downey, the head of Naval Sea Systems Command, said the service is drafting a proposal for a future budget year to practice these scenarios at real shipyards in allied countries. This initiative would allow for up to six U.S.-based ships to undergo maintenance overseas — perhaps three in the Pacific and three in Europe — during repair periods of up to 90 days.

While 90 days is much shorter than a typical yard period at home, it would allow foreign repair facilities to learn how to do business with the Navy, understand American ship designs and systems, and lay the groundwork for potential emergency repairs.

Notably, South Korea’s Defense Ministry said it has explored the possibility of using “condition-based maintenance” — or preventative maintenance — under the country’s Defense Innovation 4.0 program, which uses sensor data to provide real-time assessments of weapons.

A bilateral agreement could also improve the combat readiness of troops from both countries, the ministry said, noting this would contribute to stability in the region.

The U.S. maintains about 28,000 troops in South Korea under a decades-long treaty, and the two countries regularly hold joint exercises amid threats from North Korea. The U.S. military also maintains assets in Japan, where the two countries are discussing more comprehensive MRO services for American weapons and platforms with Japanese companies.

Last year, South Korean companies HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, Hanjin Heavy Industries, SK oceanplant, and Hanwha Ocean as well as officials from the government’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration visited the American shipyards of HII, Austal, General Dynamics NASSCO and Norfolk Naval Shipyard to explore possible joint shipbuilding and MRO projects.

The meeting was to “confirm the status of commitments,” explore ways to quell “supply chain instability” and the loss of skilled employees, and identify ways to “overcome institutional and environmental difficulties facing the shipbuilding industry,” the Defense Acquisition Program Administration said. Attendees also discussed the development of advanced technologies, how to improve ship quality and the creation of quality assurance measures at the ship-design stage, DAPA added.

In December 2023 and January 2024, U.S. Defense Department officials and their South Korean counterparts attended workshops to discuss ways to reorganize Korean industry’s capacity and how to overcome obstacles. The latter event involved defense officials from several other countries, including Japan, Australia, Britain, Germany, France and Canada.

“There is a need for cooperation and action at the level of the U.S. government and allied countries,” the South Korean Defense Ministry said.

DAPA declined to share updates on ship MRO partnership opportunities, citing the “sensitive” nature of the topic. But it did tell Defense News the government created a unit under DAPA to manage industry partnerships with the U.S.

South Korean defense companies have been expanding their presence in the U.S. In 2017, Kencoa Aerospace — a supplier of aerospace and defense technology — completed the acquisition of a metal crafter in the U.S. state of Georgia.

Last year, Hanwha Ocean, one of South Korea’s leading naval defense contractors, established a local subsidiary in the United States. And LIG Nex1 announced plans to acquire a majority stake in the American firm Ghost Robotics.

Megan Eckstein contributed to this report.

Leilani Chavez is an Asia correspondent for Defense News. Her reporting expertise is in East Asian politics, development projects, environmental issues and security.

菲律宾马尼拉——据韩国国防部发布的一系列新闻稿称，韩国和美国正在探讨韩国的国防工业是否可以帮助维护、修理和检修美国的军舰和武器。

两国就舰船问题进行了长达一年的谈判，但直到去年12月才开始讨论武器的维护、修理和大修服务。

该部指出：“如果美国军方在印太地区使用的武器能够在国内进行维护，那么国内的[MRO]产业能力就可以扩大，维护周期就可以缩短。”

事实上，美国海军已表示有意改进维护工作。在海外战争中，海军会将舰船拖入外国港口。

负责水面舰艇维护的海军少将威廉·格林表示，海军正密切关注战损应对准备工作。近年来，海军已将战损演练纳入大型演习，将退役舰艇派往海上，并在舰上引爆炸药，以便水兵们练习将舰艇拖回港口，以及进行战损评估和维修。

海军海上系统司令部司令詹姆斯·唐尼中将表示，海军正在起草一份提案，计划在未来的预算年度中，在盟国的真实造船厂进行这些场景的演练。这项计划将允许最多六艘美国舰艇在海外进行维护——或许三艘在太平洋，三艘在欧洲——维修周期最长可达90天。

虽然 90 天比国内典型的船厂维修周期短得多，但这可以让外国维修机构了解如何与海军开展业务，了解美国舰船的设计和系统，并为潜在的紧急维修奠定基础。

值得注意的是，韩国国防部表示，已探索在该国的国防创新 4.0 计划下使用“基于状态的维护”（或预防性维护）的可能性，该计划利用传感器数据提供武器的实时评估。

该部表示，双边协议还可以提高两国军队的战备水平，这将有助于该地区的稳定。

根据一项长达数十年的条约，美国在韩国驻扎着约28000名士兵。面对朝鲜的威胁，两国定期举行联合军演。美国军方还在日本设有军事设施，两国正在与日本公司探讨为美国武器和平台提供更全面的维护、修理和大修（MRO）服务。

去年，韩国现代重工、韩进重工、SK Oceanplant 和韩华海洋等公司以及韩国国防采办计划管理局的官员访问了美国 HII、Austal、通用动力 NASSCO 和诺福克海军造船厂的造船厂，探讨可能的联合造船和 MRO 项目。

国防采办计划管理局表示，此次会议旨在“确认各项承诺的落实情况”，探讨如何缓解“供应链不稳定”和“熟练员工流失”的问题，并找出“克服造船业面临的体制和环境难题”的途径。国防采办计划管理局补充说，与会者还讨论了先进技术的研发、如何提高船舶质量以及如何在船舶设计阶段建立质量保证措施。

2023年12月和2024年1月，美国国防部官员与韩国同行举行研讨会，探讨如何重组韩国工业产能以及如何克服障碍。后一次研讨会还有来自其他几个国家的国防官员参加，包括日本、澳大利亚、英国、德国、法国和加拿大。

韩国国防部表示：“美国政府和盟国层面需要开展合作和行动。”

国防采办计划署（DAPA）以该话题“敏感”为由，拒绝透露有关舰船维护、修理和大修（MRO）合作机会的最新进展。但该署告诉《防务新闻》，政府已在DAPA下设立一个部门，负责管理与美国的产业合作。

韩国国防企业一直在扩大其在美国的业务。2017 年，航空航天和国防技术供应商 Kencoa Aerospace 完成了对美国佐治亚州一家金属加工企业的收购。

去年，韩国领先的海军防务承包商之一韩华海洋公司在美国设立了当地子公司。同时，LIG Nex1公司宣布计划收购美国公司Ghost Robotics的多数股权。

Megan Eckstein对本报道亦有贡献。

莱拉尼·查韦斯是《防务新闻》的亚洲记者。她的报道专长是东亚政治、发展项目、环境问题和安全。