HD Hyundai and Anduril Industries: To work together on the creation and production of autonomous naval systems, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, a well-known shipbuilder from South Korea, has partnered with Anduril Industries, a US defence contractor with venture capital support. With over 50 years of experience in designing and constructing various types of ships, including commercial ships, warships, submarines, and other maritime equipment, HD Hyundai brings valuable expertise to this strategic partnership.
There are a lot of companies in South Korea that build ships. Together, they make up almost half of the world’s shipbuilding capability. Anduril has made a growing group of low-cost weapons and military systems that can work on their own. They are all based on its Lattice software platform, which allows AI to combine sensors, make missions autonomous, handle networks, and give commands to robots.
Christian Brose, chief strategy officer of Anduril, said of the announcement in a company statement dated April 13: “Together, our companies will define a new maritime arsenal of democracy — one that both restores naval capacity through modern shipbuilding and mass manufacturing practices, while also enhancing naval capability through cutting-edge mission autonomy, artificial intelligence, and software,”
According to the release, the agreement will also give each company “greater access” to the defense market of the other’s home country and will enable it to produce systems for both South Korea and the United States military as well as “allies and partners.”
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Won-ho Joo, chief operating officer of HD Hyundai’s naval and special ship business unit, stated in the same statement, “With the rise of autonomous naval systems as a significant component for future maritime defense, we expect to pioneer the market with our warship-building capacity and leading defense technology combined,”
The two companies’ announcement coincides with open efforts by the chief civilian officer of the US Navy to attract South Korean and Japanese shipbuilders to the US market.
In late February, Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro traveled to many shipbuilders in Asia, including HD Hyundai, to present them with the idea of investing in American facilities.
“In each of these engagements, I brought to the table a simple, yet profound opportunity to invest in America. I was enormously gratified by the strong interest expressed by the leaders of each of these world-class shipbuilders in establishing U.S. subsidiaries and investing in shipyards in the United States,” He stated after a visit
In sharp contrast to the US Navy’s schedules, which frequently predict deliveries in fiscal quarters, The Breaking Defense reported that the SECNAV has since praised the accuracy of those companies at public events, like last week’s Sea Air Space Exposition, for their ability to predict when a ship would be ready for delivery down to a single day.
In comparison to what Hyundai normally produces, Brose pointed out that the Dive-LD UVV, his company’s largest contribution to the Navy, is small in size. Nevertheless, he noted that the partnership would ask “what are the types of capabilities that are missing that we could create together and do quickly.” and that Hyundai’s capacity to produce ships in large quantities using cutting-edge manufacturing techniques opens up a lot of possibilities for very large unmanned or optionally manned systems for the navies.
Hyundai has been identified by Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro as a global leader in shipbuilding, with whom the United States should collaborate. Specifically, the corporation should purchase an American shipyard and renovate it to incorporate its cutting-edge manufacturing techniques and technology.
Brose pointed out that the Navy generally has an open mind to new ideas, even though that isn’t what this cooperation with Anduril will accomplish. He expressed hope that the sea service will be receptive to whatever novel concepts Anduril and Hyundai eventually develop and pitch.
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He remarked, “I’ve never seen a time where people are more open and interested to doing different things, having different ideas and approaches, and being willing to entertain things that even five years ago people would have said is just off the table,”
As per the press release from Anduril, HD Hyundai is the biggest shipbuilding company in South Korea, which currently produces the second-most ships globally, after China, and has fifty years of experience in designing and building commercial ships, warships, submarines, and other maritime systems.
Based on its Lattice software platform, which offers AI-enabled sensor fusion, mission autonomy, distributed network management, and command and control for robotic systems, Anduril has created a family of low-cost autonomous military systems and weaponry.
