Building a Sovereign Submarine Enterprise: How the Hanwha–Babcock Partnership Is Positioning Canada for Decades of Jobs, Skills, and Industrial Growth

As Canada moves closer to selecting its next-generation submarine fleet, the Canadian Patrol Submarine Project (CPSP) has become about far more than the acquisition of new boats. It has emerged as a once-in-a-generation opportunity to anchor sovereign industrial capability, create high-value employment, and establish a long-term submarine sustainment enterprise inside Canada.

Against this backdrop, Hanwha Ocean and Babcock Canada are advancing a joint approach to the CPSP that places Canadian jobs, skills development, and in-country sustainment at the very centre of their proposed solution.

Hanwha Ocean is one of two shortlisted qualified bidders for the CPSP. Babcock Canada is the Prime Contractor for the Royal Canadian Navy’s (RCN) current submarine sustainment contract and Canada’s leading provider of submarine support services. Together, the companies are aligning platform delivery with a deeply localized, purpose-built sustainment ecosystem designed to endure for decades.

Their collaboration is focused on a simple premise: if Canada is going to operate 12 advanced submarines across three oceans, it must also possess the sovereign industrial capacity to maintain, modernize, and sustain them at home.

A Partnership Built Around Localization and Workforce Development

Representatives from Hanwha Ocean and Babcock met on the sidelines of the United Kingdom–Republic of Korea Defence Logistics Committee in London to advance discussions on sovereign sustainment pathways and long-term employment opportunities in Canada.

Central to those discussions were localization strategies that would see critical submarine subsystems and sustainment activities progressively transferred and established inside Canada. Among the most significant areas of focus is the development of Canadian solutions that enable the patriation of Babcock International Group’s Weapons Handling and Launch Discharge System—a critical component of Hanwha Ocean’s KSS-III submarine platform.

Under the proposed teaming arrangement, Hanwha Ocean brings a proven, in-service KSS-III submarine design together with extensive shipbuilding and platform-integration expertise. Babcock contributes deep sustainment knowledge, a highly specialized Canadian workforce, an established domestic supply chain, and ownership of key subsystems, including the Weapons Handling and Launch Discharge System and essential torpedo tube components.

Working alongside Hanwha Ocean, Babcock Canada will lead localization efforts, ensuring that sustainment capability is not simply imported, but purpose-built in Canada from the outset.

“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 at the center of localization, we are committed to supporting sovereign sustainment and lasting workforce development for Canada.”

Trilateral Industrial Collaboration With Canadian Workers at the Core

The Hanwha–Babcock approach represents a trilateral industrial collaboration spanning South Korea, the United Kingdom, and Canada. Rather than dispersing value offshore, the model is structured to embed sustained Canadian participation across maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO), supply-chain activity, engineering support, and technical training.

For Canadian industry and workers, this means stable, high-quality employment over decades—covering everything from submarine maintenance and modernization to digital engineering, logistics, and component manufacturing.

The partnership also aligns closely with Canada’s Industrial and Technological Benefits (ITB) policy, emphasizing domestic value creation, technology transfer, and long-term capability development rather than one-time offsets.

“To successfully deliver and operate a fleet of this magnitude from coast to coast to coast, significant investment and commitment will be made, giving Canada a transformational opportunity with significant economic value,” said Tony March, CEO, Babcock Canada. “Our team is committed to employing Canadians across all lines of business, through our supply chain, ITB investments, and future infrastructure developments. Our Canadian specialists, alongside Hanwha Ocean, will deliver an all-encompassing, purpose-built, and sovereign Canadian sustainment solution that will meet our Nation’s defence and economic needs for generations to come.”

Supporting a Flagship National Capability

The CPSP aims to acquire 12 submarines to recapitalize the RCN’s fleet and strengthen Canada’s long-term maritime sovereignty across the Pacific, Atlantic, and Arctic. It is widely regarded as one of the country’s most significant and complex defence procurements.

Beyond platform selection, the program places strong emphasis on industrial participation, sovereign sustainment, and workforce development—recognizing that operational readiness depends as much on domestic industrial capacity as on the submarines themselves.

By combining Hanwha Ocean’s shipbuilding and platform expertise with Babcock’s sustainment leadership, established Canadian footprint, and ownership of critical subsystems, the partnership is positioning itself as a solution that addresses both Canada’s operational requirements and its economic priorities.

If selected, the Hanwha–Babcock team envisions a Canadian submarine enterprise that extends well beyond initial delivery—one that anchors a national sustainment ecosystem, cultivates a skilled workforce, and supports Canada’s undersea fleet for generations to come.