TOTE Services has signed a contract with the U.S. Maritime Administration to manage the construction of new missile-tracking ships, allowing Hanwha Philly Shipyard to start work on the first ship.
On Wednesday, the Jacksonville, Florida-based company announced that it has finalized a vessel construction management contract with MARAD and has awarded a shipbuilding subcontract to Hanwha Philly Shipyard.
This agreement advances a project announced in July aimed at replacing two old Missile Range Instrumentation Vessels used by the U.S. Missile Defense Agency. The first new ship, named Golden Defender, is set to be delivered in 2030.
The new vessels will take over from the Pacific Tracker and Pacific Collector, which were built in 1965 and 1970, and are currently used for missile testing and tracking.
This project builds on the collaboration between TOTE and Hanwha Philly Shipyard, which has been working on five National Security Multi-Mission Vessels (NSMVs) for MARAD using the same vessel construction manager model.
TOTE mentioned that the new missile-tracking ships will have the same hull design as the NSMVs, sharing about 70% of their designs. This similarity enables Hanwha to utilize an existing production line, supply chain, and workforce, rather than starting a new shipbuilding program from the ground up.
The company stated that it completed the design work, contract discussions, and fixed-price agreements in under three months, significantly quicker than the year-long process typical of traditional government shipbuilding procurement.
“Signing the Missile Range Instrumentation Vessel contract and executing the shipyard subcontract gets us closer to delivering the next generation of U.S. defense capabilities,” said Jeff Dixon, President of TOTE Services. “Our effective Vessel Construction Management model ensures we meet milestones sooner and make significant progress faster.”
In the VCM model, MARAD contracts TOTE to manage the shipbuilding program, while TOTE handles contracts and oversight with shipyards. This setup centralizes responsibility for design coordination, suppliers, construction schedules, and costs with a commercial vessel manager.
TOTE claims this approach can cut acquisition costs by at least 50% compared to traditional government procurement methods. However, the value of the newly signed MRIV contract was not disclosed in the announcement.
For Hanwha Philly Shipyard, the agreement means additional government shipbuilding work as the yard approaches completion of the NSMV program. The Philadelphia facility currently employs over 2,000 production workers, a result of a significant expansion related to the training ship program.
This missile defense contract further adds to TOTE's increasing portfolio of government shipbuilding projects.
In July, TOTE secured a contract worth up to $2.2 billion to manage the construction of a new fleet of Medium Landing Ships for the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps, which could include up to eight vessels under the initial agreement.
The MRIV program is being developed through collaboration between the Department of Transportation, the Department of War, and the Missile Defense Agency. The ships are part of the Trump administration's Golden Dome missile defense initiative.
The current agreement includes the construction of the first vessel in what TOTE describes as a planned series of missile-tracking ships.