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HD Hyundai, Anduril ink MOU on underwater drones

Published: 23 Apr. 2026, 14:37 Updated: 23 Apr. 2026, 19:12

LEE JAE-LIM
[email protected]

Lee Sang-bong, executive vice president and head of naval ship design division at HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, left, and Andrew Nuss, head of maritime at Anduril, pose for a photo after signing memorandum of understanding in the development of unmanned underwater vehicles at the Sea, Air and Space Exposition 2026 in Washington D.C. on April 22. [HD HYUNDAI]

HD Hyundai has partnered with the U.S. defense technology firm Anduril to jointly develop advanced unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) systems, expanding a collaboration that previously focused on unmanned surface vehicles.

The memorandum of understanding (MOU) was signed on Wednesday at the Sea-Air-Space 2026 exposition, which ran from Sunday to Wednesday in Washington.

The global UUV market is forecast to nearly quintuple over the next decade, rising from $5.58 billion in 2025 to $25.9 billion by 2035 at a compound annual growth rate of 16.6 percent, according to Market Research Future.

On the same day, HD Hyundai signed a separate trilateral MOU with Anduril and the American Bureau of Shipping to develop a regulatory and certification framework for autonomous maritime systems — laying the groundwork for the eventual commercialization of unmanned vessels.

"Unmanned vessels represent the defining frontier of the future naval market worldwide, a domain we are determined to lead," said Joo Won-ho, president of HD Hyundai Heavy Industries and head of its naval vessel and midsize ship business division. "Through our collaboration with Anduril, ABS and others, we will demonstrate our superior technological capabilities on the global stage."

BY LEE JAE-LIM [[email protected]]