diff --git a/data/modules/Debug/CheckShipData.lua b/data/modules/Debug/CheckShipData.lua
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..1811a59c48
--- /dev/null
+++ b/data/modules/Debug/CheckShipData.lua
@@ -0,0 +1,148 @@
+-- Copyright © 2008-2025 Pioneer Developers. See AUTHORS.txt for details
+-- Licensed under the terms of the GPL v3. See licenses/GPL-3.txt
+
+local Equipment  = require 'Equipment'
+local HullConfig = require 'HullConfig'
+local Loader     = require '.DebugLoader'
+local EquipSet   = require 'EquipSet'
+local Lang       = require 'Lang'
+local ShipDef    = require 'ShipDef'
+
+local utils      = require 'utils'
+
+-- This file implements validation passes for ship JSON files
+-- It's intended to catch most common errors, especially those that would be
+-- difficult to find outside of switching to each ship type in sequence.
+
+local activeFile = nil
+
+local error = function(message) Loader.LogFileMessage(Loader.Type.Error, activeFile, message) end
+local warn = function(message) Loader.LogFileMessage(Loader.Type.Warn, activeFile, message) end
+local info = function(message) Loader.LogFileMessage(Loader.Type.Info, activeFile, message) end
+
+local function findMatchingSlots(config, type)
+	return utils.filter_table(config.slots, function(_, slot)
+		return EquipSet.SlotTypeMatches(slot.type, type)
+	end)
+end
+
+---@param slot HullConfig.Slot
+local function checkSlot(slot)
+
+	if string.match(slot.id, "##") then
+		error("Slot {id} name contains invalid sequence '##'." % slot)
+	end
+
+	if not string.match(slot.id, "^[a-zA-Z0-9_]+$") then
+		warn("Slot {id} name contains non-identifier characters." % slot)
+	end
+
+	if slot.required and not slot.default then
+		error("Slot {id} is a required slot but does not have a default equipment item." % slot)
+	end
+
+	if slot.default and not Equipment.Get(slot.default) then
+		error("Slot {id} default item ({default}) does not exist." % slot)
+	end
+
+	if EquipSet.SlotTypeMatches(slot.type, "hyperdrive") and not slot.default then
+		warn("Slot {id} has no default hyperdrive equipment." % slot)
+	end
+
+	if slot.i18n_key then
+		if not slot.i18n_res then
+			error("Slot {id} has an invalid language resource key {i18n_res}." % slot)
+		end
+
+		local res = Lang.GetResource(slot.i18n_res)
+
+		if not rawget(res, slot.i18n_key) then
+			warn("Slot {id} uses undefined lang string '{i18n_res}.{i18n_key}'." % slot)
+		end
+	end
+
+	local isWeaponType = EquipSet.SlotTypeMatches(slot.type, "weapon")
+	local isPylonType = EquipSet.SlotTypeMatches(slot.type, "pylon")
+	local isBayType = EquipSet.SlotTypeMatches(slot.type, "missile_bay")
+	local isScoopType = EquipSet.SlotTypeMatches(slot.type, "fuel_scoop")
+
+	local isExternal = isWeaponType or isPylonType or isBayType or isScoopType
+
+	if isExternal then
+
+		if not slot.hardpoint then
+			error("External slot {id} with type {type} should have hardpoint=true." % slot)
+		end
+
+		if not slot.tag then
+			info("External slot {id} with type {type} is missing an associated tag." % slot)
+		end
+
+	end
+
+	if isWeaponType then
+
+		if not slot.gimbal or type(slot.gimbal) ~= "table" then
+			error("Weapon slot {id} is missing gimbal data." % slot)
+		elseif type(slot.gimbal[1]) ~= "number" or type(slot.gimbal[2]) ~= "number" then
+			error("Weapon slot {id} should have a two-axis gimbal expressed as [x, y]." % slot)
+		end
+
+	end
+
+end
+
+---@param config HullConfig
+local function checkConfig(config)
+	if utils.count(findMatchingSlots(config, "hyperdrive")) > 1 then
+		error("Ship {id} has more than one hyperdrive slot; this will break module code." % config)
+	end
+
+	if utils.count(findMatchingSlots(config, "thruster")) == 0 then
+		warn("Ship {id} has no thruster slots. This may break in the future.")
+	end
+
+	-- TODO: more validation passes on the whole ship config
+end
+
+---@param shipDef ShipDef
+local function checkShipDef(shipDef)
+	if shipDef.tag ~= "SHIP" then
+		return
+	end
+
+	if utils.count(shipDef.roles) == 0 then
+		info("Ship {id} has no roles and will not be used by most modules." % shipDef)
+	end
+
+	if shipDef.minCrew > shipDef.maxCrew then
+		error("Ship {id} has minCrew {minCrew} > maxCrew {maxCrew}." % shipDef)
+	end
+
+	if not shipDef.shipClass or shipDef.shipClass == "" then
+		warn("Ship {id} has invalid/empty ship_class field." % shipDef)
+	end
+
+	if not shipDef.manufacturer then
+		info("Ship {id} has no manufacturer set." % shipDef)
+	end
+end
+
+Loader.RegisterCheck("HullConfigs", function()
+
+	local configs = HullConfig.GetHullConfigs()
+
+	for _, config in pairs(configs) do
+		activeFile = config.path
+
+		for _, slot in pairs(config.slots) do checkSlot(slot) end
+		checkConfig(config)
+	end
+
+	for _, shipDef in pairs(ShipDef) do
+		activeFile = shipDef.path
+
+		checkShipDef(shipDef)
+	end
+
+end)