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Japanese, South Korean, Turkish Warships Under Consideration for New U.S. Frigate CompetitionThe White House and U.S. Navy are considering frigate designs from South Korea, Japan and Turkey for a new class of warships, USNI News has learned.
An international warship competition could include building up to two of the ships in foreign shipyards before transitioning to domestic yards as part of the Trump administration’s push to rapidly expand the fleet, three industry sources familiar with the deliberations confirmed to USNI News this week. The move would break with more than a century of U.S. domestic naval construction.
Potentially buying frigates abroad follows an August White House memo that opened the door for the Pentagon to consider foreign designs by invoking a “national security interest” waiver to bypass a U.S. law prohibiting foreign-built warships from entering naval service.
After the White House issued the memo, Acting Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao directed the office of the assistant secretary of the Navy for research, development and acquisition William Mahan to oversee a study of international combatants, roll-on, roll-off cargo vessels and consolidated cargo replenishment at sea (CONSOL) tankers for Military Sealift Command, according to memo language reviewed by USNI News. That assessment is due Nov. 12, 2026.
Three sources told USNI News that the international designs under consideration include the export version of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries’ FFM Mogami-class guided-missile frigate and the Chungnam-class guided-missile frigate built by a variety of South Korean shipbuilders. The Istanbul-class guided-missile frigate built by several Turkish shipyards is also in the mix after a conversation between Turkish leadership and President Donald Trump on the sidelines of July’s NATO summit, two sources told USNI News.
The frigate deal could push for the so-called “Finland model” approach in which construction would likely start in a foreign yard for up to the first two hulls ahead of a foreign investment into U.S. facilities and shipbuilding infrastructure. The concept follows the U.S. Coast Guard approach to the Arctic Security Cutter in which the Finnish shipyards are building the initial hulls based on Canadian designs and then transitioning construction to a U.S. shipyard.
The frigate fits a current capability gap in the Navy’s surface force. Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers, designed for high-end naval warfare, are often used for basic missions that less sophisticated platforms like a frigate could accomplish, service leaders have said.
Late last year, then-Secretary of the Navy John Phelan cancelled the Constellation-class (FFG-62) guided-missile frigate program and instead pushed the FFX program to create a patrol frigate based on the Coast Guard’s National Security Cutter. The Constellation-class was slated to fulfill the Navy’s surface-based anti-submarine warfare capability. HII’s Ingalls Shipbuilding has started preproduction work for the first FFX frigate but has not been awarded a contract.
Sal Mercogliano: So, our choice for frigates is Turkey; or two countries within the missile envelope of China and don't build warships at a scale that the U.S. needs.
https://news.usni.org/2026/09/01/japanese-south-korean-turkish-warships-under-consideration-for-new-u-s-frigate-competition
