On the 12th, at the Ulsan shipyard of HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, a black hull was visible, with the white number "001" clearly engraved on its bow. It was the "ASV Alpha," a 600-ton light-displacement medium unmanned surface vessel that HD Hyundai Heavy Industries and US defense company Anduril jointly developed and built as their first unit.
The core feature of the "ASV Alpha," which held its launching ceremony on this day, is that it is a high-performance autonomous naval vessel with not a single crew member aboard. It is designed to automate all aspects of unmanned composite missions, from navigation to institutional investor operations and damage control, as well as weapons operation, enabling it to perform various military missions such as long-duration reconnaissance, surveillance, and maritime information collection without human presence. This contrasts with comparable manned vessels, which carry approximately 50 crew members. It is the culmination of HD Hyundai Heavy Industries' world-leading shipbuilding and autonomous navigation technologies combined with Anduril's AI (artificial intelligence) and autonomous mission system technologies.
At the launching ceremony site, Ju Won-ho, President of HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, described the "ASV Alpha" as a "vessel symbolizing an important leap toward the future of maritime defense." He added, "Future maritime defense will no longer be defined solely by large and powerful warships," emphasizing that "the innovative cutting-edge technologies held by both companies are concentrated in the 'ASV Alpha,' which will become the core and pivotal technology driving the future maritime defense industry."
Matt Grimm, Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Anduril, stated, "China's shipbuilding production capacity overwhelms that of the United States by more than 200 times," emphasizing, "The task of continuously monitoring key maritime chokepoints with manned forces has already become an overwhelming mission. Therefore, allied nations, including the United States and the Republic of Korea, must secure vessels optimized for the battles to come in the future, rather than ships tailored to past battlefields."
To achieve such strategic goals, the "ASV Alpha" is equipped with HDHD Hyundai Heavy Industries' self-developed total ship autonomy solution, "VAone," and Anduril's mission autonomy solution, "Lattice." VAone is a system that automates institutional investor operations and damage control, incorporating HiNAS, the autonomous navigation solution of Abicross, an autonomous navigation specialist under HDHyundai Group. Combined with Lattice, it automates military missions such as remote mission changes and weapons system operation. Kim Hyeong-taek, Executive Officer of HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, explained, "Competitors claim to have equipped their vessels with related technologies, but there is little verified track record. HiNAS already has a track record of being applied to more than 500 commercial ships."
Another feature is its modular structure, designed to allow weapons and sensors to be swapped according to operational purposes. It responds to various missions, such as anti-ship and air defense, by carrying equipment that fits the 40th-foot international standard container specification.
HD Hyundai Heavy Industries and Anduril completed the construction of ASV Alpha in just one year, following the signing of a strategic cooperation agreement last November. This significantly shortened the typical shipbuilding schedule, which takes about three years from design to delivery. Unlike the conventional method of purchasing materials after completing the design, they changed their existing design and construction approach, such as ordering steel first, to meet the rapid vessel acquisition timelines demanded in the US market.
ASV Alpha will undergo port and sea trials off the coast of Ulsan for the next three months. During this process, onboard systems will be activated and integrated, and performance will be inspected. Subsequently, it is scheduled to be delivered to Anduril in February of next year, where it will conduct test operations locally and demonstrate its performance to the US Navy. Based on this, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries plans to pursue entry into the US medium unmanned surface vessel (M-USV) market and expand into the global unmanned vessel market in Canada, Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and South America in the future.
President Ju stated, "The partnership with Anduril goes beyond simple technical cooperation," adding, "It is a case that well illustrates how much achievement can be created when two reliable partners join forces based on a shared vision."
in INDUSTRY
