HD Hyundai is expanding its collaboration in the advanced vessel sector with the U.S. AI defense company Anduril Industries, accelerating its efforts to penetrate the next-generation vessel markets in South Korea and the United States.

HD Hyundai announced on the 7th that it signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) for vessel development cooperation with Anduril at the HD Hyundai Global R&D Center (GRC) in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province. Key figures such as Joo Won-ho, head of HD Hyundai Heavy Industries' Special Ship Business, and Palmer Luckey, co-founder of Anduril, attended the signing ceremony.

This MOA concretizes the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed with Anduril in April. Under the agreement, HD Hyundai will provide vessel autonomy technology and vessel design and construction technology, while Anduril will supply mission autonomy solutions. Specifically, in the Korean market, Anduril's mission autonomy solution will be installed in the unmanned surface vessel being developed by HD Hyundai. In the U.S., HD Hyundai will be responsible for the design and construction of manned and unmanned vessels developed primarily by Anduril. HD Hyundai will also supply AI vessel autonomy technology to Anduril.

Additionally, the two companies will pursue joint development of prototypes of unmanned surface vessels (USVs) to be showcased in the U.S. The USV prototype is planned to be introduced in the Korean market by 2027. Joo Won-ho, head of HD Hyundai Heavy Industries' Special Ship Business, stated, "Unmanned vessels are both the core and essential elements of future naval warfare," adding, "Through collaboration with Anduril, which possesses top-level mission autonomy technology, we will develop world-class unmanned vessels."

HD Hyundai continues to expand its cooperation with the U.S. in the shipbuilding and marine sectors. In April, it signed a business agreement with Huntington Ingalls, the largest defense shipbuilder in the U.S., and Fairbanks Morse Defense, a key defense equipment supplier. In June, it formed a partnership with the U.S. shipbuilding group Edison Chouest Offshore (ECO) for the construction of U.S. merchant ships. On the 6th of this month, it announced its first contract for the U.S. Navy's maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) business. It will handle the regular maintenance of the USNS Alan Shepard, a 41,000-ton cargo replenishment ship belonging to the U.S. Navy's 7th Fleet.

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