HD Hyundai, the biggest shipbuilding company in Korea, is teaming up with US defence contractor Anduril to design state-of-the-art navy vessels for US and South Korean clients
“With the emergence of autonomous naval systems as an important component of future maritime defence, we expect to pioneer the market by combining our warship building capabilities and leading defence technology,” said Won-ho Joo, COO of naval shipbuilding at HD Hyundai.
Rooted in military UAVs, including advanced drone fighters, Anduril has expanded its portfolio to include autonomous underwater vehicles, maritime domain awareness and an overarching autonomous command system called Lattice OS. The company specialises in low-cost, high-volume, ruggedised autonomous systems. It ticks all the boxes for the Pentagon’s rush to buy unmanned equipment on a massive scale.
The partnership with HYUNDAI reflects this low-cost, high-volume, highly autonomous ethos, and offers a response to the Navy’s main problems: limited shipyard capacity and personnel. It also comes a month after Secretary of Naval Affairs Carlos DelToro visited HDH Hyundai, inviting its executives to invest in U.S. shipbuilding.
The partnership will also explore how Hyundai can help with the manufacturing side of Anduril’s maritime product line, including future maritime systems.
Maritime Executive
