Hanwha Ocean, led by President and CEO Kim Hee-cheul, has been selected as the preferred bidder for the Royal Thai Navy’s next-generation frigate procurement program.
Hanwha Ocean press release
The selection is a procedural step toward discussing specific terms, including detailed technical specifications and the scope of the program, ahead of signing a final contract. Hanwha Ocean will conduct detailed negotiations with the Royal Thai Navy, and the final contract terms will be determined by the outcome of those negotiations.
With its selection as the preferred bidder, Hanwha Ocean plans to strengthen the foundation for long-term naval defense cooperation with Thailand while continuing to expand business opportunities in the global surface combatant market, including Southeast Asia.
In particular, during the forthcoming detailed negotiations, the company intends to carefully coordinate the terms needed to ensure reliable program execution and build a vessel that satisfies both the Royal Thai Navy and Hanwha Ocean. Through this process, it aims to secure optimal contract terms that maximize its naval shipbuilding competitiveness and program efficiency.
The Royal Thai Navy previously stated in a public notice that it was proposing THB 16.73 billion (approximately KRW 683.3 billion) for the construction of one frigate and integrated logistics support.
Hanwha Ocean competed for the program against defense companies from Spain, Singapore, Türkiye and other countries. The company was selected as the preferred bidder on the strength of its experience successfully delivering the first frigate, HTMS Bhumibol Adulyadej, to the Royal Thai Navy in 2018, along with its accumulated naval shipbuilding expertise.
Active support from the Republic of Korea’s Ministry of National Defense, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration and the Republic of Korea Navy also contributed to the selection. Trust between the two countries, built through sustained defense exchanges, also served as a foundation for advancing the program. These included exchanges and bilateral talks between the two navies, a port call in Thailand by the ROK Navy’s Cruise Training Task Group, and the combined exercise Cobra Gold.
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Naval News comments:
As previously reported in Naval News, the Thai Frigate Competition included competing bids from:
- ASFAT,
- Hanwha Ocean,
- Hyundai Heavy Industries,
- Navantia,
- ST Engineering,
- TAIS.
As Naval News reported during Defense & Security 2025 exhibition in Bangkok, the configuration of Hanwha Ocean’s OCEAN-40F frigate for the Royal Thai Navy is unusual. For the first time, the Korean shipbuilder partnered with leading European suppliers.
During the defense event, Hanwha Ocean signed memorandums of understanding with France’s Naval Group to serve as combat management system and sensors integrator, and with MBDA for weapons integration. This partnership delivers a strike capability centered on MBDA’s Exocet MM40 Block 3c anti-ship missiles, which offer both over-horizon engagement and coastal attack capabilities. The company also signed an MoU with Cohort Group, including collaboration on sonar systems, torpedo launcher systems, surveillance, targeting and fire-control systems as well as communications management.
Based on the OCEAN-40F frigate scale model on display at Defense & Security 2025 and on the new images released this week by Hanwha Ocean, the future Royal Thai Navy frigate looks to be fitted with the following sensors:
- TRS-4D radar
- SeaEagle FCRO
- SeaEagle FCEO-D
- ES-3601 R-ESM
The frigate’s air defence is provided by a 16-cell vertical launch system equipped with MBDA’s VL MICA NG surface-to-air missiles, and two SIMBAD RC launchers (forward and aft) add additional close-range air defense capability. The weapons suite is rounded out by a 76mm main gun,and two DS-30 Mk2 30mm remote weapon stations that serve dual purposes in both conventional surface warfare and emerging asymmetric threats.
The frigate also appears to be fitted with four SYLENA decoy launchers by Lacroix.
One of the illustrations shows a CAMCOPTER S100 VTOL UAV and some kind of USV alongside the frigate. It is not clear if these uncrewed systems are part of the upcoming deal.
Based on the previously signed MoU, we assume the Combat Management Systems is Naval Group’s SETIS.
Additional details are likely to become available once Thailand formally inks the deal for this frigate.
