Washington eyes foreign warships from Japan, South Korea, Turkey amid China naval threat

The Pentagon is preparing a tender for foreign-built frigates as US officials look to boost naval capacity, with Japan, South Korea and Turkey expected to compete for the deal. The United States has struggled to reach its goal of maintaining 300 operational warships, while China's navy has expanded to around 400 vessels. The US Defense Department is expected to issue its first tender in October for the purchase of frigates from foreign shipyards. Under the plan, foreign shipbuilders could construct some of the vessels themselves while helping train American shipyards to build additional ships in the future. A third contender, Turkey, is also expected to join the competition after a conversation between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and US President Donald Trump at last month's NATO summit. The Istanbul-class frigate that Turkey is expected to offer is smaller than its competitors, measuring 113 meters in length with a displacement of approximately 3,100 tons. South Korea's Chungnam-class frigate is larger and heavier, measuring approximately 130 meters in length with a displacement of around 4,300 tons. Japan's Mogami-class frigate is the largest and most heavily armed of the three competitors, ranging from 133 to 142 meters in length with a displacement of approximately 5,500 tons.