Davie Defense Awarded $3.5 Billion Contract for Five Arctic Security Cutters

U.S. shipbuilder Davie Defense Inc. announced on Wednesday that it has finalized a contract with the U.S. Coast Guard to build and deliver five Arctic Security Cutters. The agreement, first announced in mid-February, increases the total number of cutters being manufactured to 11.

This expansion follows President Donald Trump’s executive orders directing growth of the icebreaker fleet. Three of the ships will be built at the company’s Gulf Copper facilities in Galveston and Port Arthur, Texas. The remaining two cutters will be constructed at the company’s affiliate shipyard in Helsinki, Finland.

The first cutter is scheduled for delivery in 2028, with the full contract running through February 2035.

The company stated that the contract falls within the 2024 ICE Pact, a trilateral agreement between the United States, Canada and Finland. The pact combines collective knowledge, resources and expertise to produce Arctic and polar icebreakers. Officials said the approach allows the service to leverage overseas capability and proven shipbuilding in Finland while shifting more work back to the United States over time.

“The Arctic Security Cutters will deliver the essential capability to uphold U.S. sovereignty against adversaries’ aggressive economic and military actions in the Arctic,” a Coast Guard statement said. The Storis returned to homeport on Monday after a 36-day deployment to the Arctic and is the first icebreaker added to the fleet in more than two decades.

The service is increasing its fleet and facilities in response to growing geopolitical importance of the Arctic and Antarctic regions. According to the Department of Homeland Security, the Coast Guard is using funds from the $25 billion provided in the fiscal 2025 budget reconciliation.

The agency has already ordered more than $13 billion in new fleet assets and capabilities. Last May the Department of Homeland Security approved construction of the service’s first polar security cutter in nearly 50 years and invested $323 million in renovations to icebreaker facilities in Seattle and Juneau, Alaska.

The five cutters to be delivered by Davie Defense will represent a new class of Arctic icebreakers designed to conduct U.S. Coast Guard missions in the world’s most challenging maritime environments. The program aims to provide the Coast Guard with a modern icebreaking fleet to support national security, maritime safety and Arctic access.