Press Release
Hanwha Ocean and Babcock are pursuing a joint approach to the CPSP that places long-term employment, skills transfer, and industrial participation in Canada at the core of delivery.
This approach builds on the exclusive teaming agreement signed by Hanwha Ocean and Babcock Canada in September 2025 and reflects close alignment on localisation, sovereign sustainment, and the creation of long-term employment pathways for Canadian workers.
Under the partnership, Hanwha Ocean brings a proven, in-service KSS-III submarine platform together with extensive shipbuilding expertise. Babcock contributes deep experience in sustainment, maintenance, and lifecycle support, while supplying critical subsystems including the weapon launching and handling system and key torpedo tube components.
Working alongside Hanwha Ocean, Babcock Canada will lead localisation efforts in Canada, delivering in-country in-service support (ISS), maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO), performance upgrades, and long-term workforce training.
“CPSP is not just about delivering a submarine platform. It is about building long-term industrial capability and skilled jobs in Canada,” said Charlie SC Eoh, President of Naval Ship Business at Hanwha Ocean. “Through our partnership with Babcock, and with Babcock Canada at the centre of localisation, we are committed to supporting sovereign sustainment and lasting workforce development for Canada.”
He added, “By bringing together Korean, British, and Canadian industrial expertise, this partnership supports Canada’s ability to operate seamlessly with allies across both the NATO and Indo-Pacific regions. It reinforces Canada’s role as a trusted defence partner while ensuring that sovereign sustainment, skilled jobs, and long-term industrial capability are firmly rooted at home.”
Beyond bilateral industrial cooperation, the Hanwha–Babcock partnership establishes a Korea–UK–Canada trilateral CPSP cooperation model that integrates maritime security, economic security, and sovereign sustainment into a single delivery framework.
Building on Babcock’s proven experience in submarine sustainment and fleet support for the Royal Navy, the partnership enables the development of a sovereign Canadian sustainment capability, supporting long-term fleet availability for the Royal Canadian Navy.
This trilateral model is designed to deliver sustained, high-quality employment in Canada across the full submarine lifecycle—spanning MRO, supply-chain participation, engineering support, and workforce skills development—while embedding long-term industrial capability within Canada’s defence ecosystem.
By combining Hanwha Ocean’s shipbuilding and platform expertise with Babcock’s sustainment capabilities and Babcock Canada’s established local footprint, the partnership is structured to deliver enduring economic and workforce benefits aligned with Canada’s ITB objectives and long-term naval requirements.
Hanwha Ocean has been shortlisted as one of two qualified bidders in the CPSP, a flagship program aimed at acquiring 12 submarines to recapitalise the Royal Canadian Navy’s fleet and strengthen Canada’s long-term maritime sovereignty across the Pacific, Atlantic, and Arctic. CPSP is widely regarded as one of Canada’s most significant and complex defence procurement programs, with a strong emphasis on industrial participation, sovereign sustainment, and long-term workforce development.
