HD Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., Ltd.
Korean shipbuilder of Aegis destroyers and submarines now building combat USVs: Korean Navy concept design (2025) and an Anduril-partnered autonomous vessel.
HD Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., Ltd. (HD HHI) is a South Korean shipbuilder and heavy-industries company based at its shipyard in Dong-gu, Ulsan. Construction of the Ulsan yard began in March 1972. Two years and three months later the yard was complete, and its first two supertankers were delivered at the same time. The company reports more than 2,300 ships delivered to 348 shipowners and about 34,800 employees. It is part of the HD Hyundai group, and its largest shareholder is the intermediate holding company HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering. HD HHI's own shares trade on the Korea Exchange (329180). The company has four business units: Shipbuilding; Offshore & Energy; Engine & Machinery, which includes the HiMSEN engine line; and Naval & Medium size Ships. The last was formed in December 2025, when HD HHI merged with HD Hyundai Mipo.
The naval business is the base for the company's work on unmanned systems. HD HHI built ROKS Ulsan, Korea's first indigenous frigate, delivered in 1980. In 2007 it became the world's third shipbuilder to build an Aegis destroyer. In 2024 it delivered the first 8,200-ton Batch-II Aegis destroyer, Jeongjo the Great, to the Republic of Korea Navy, and it is leading development of the next-generation KDDX destroyer. It was the first company outside Germany to build a Type 214 AIP submarine and has also delivered a 3,000-ton class submarine. Export programmes include an auxiliary ship for New Zealand in 1987, frigates for the Philippine Navy modernisation programme and a local shipbuilding partnership in Peru. The company says it is now focusing on manned-unmanned teaming (MUM-T), unmanned platforms and next-generation warships.
HD HHI has been building up its unmanned surface vessel (USV) work since 2024:
- 2024: signed a memorandum of understanding with Palantir to co-develop USVs. In the same year it agreed with Daeyang Electric to develop mission-modular unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs) for export, aimed at reconnaissance, mine countermeasures, anti-submarine warfare and environmental data collection.
- April 2025: won a Korean Navy contract for the concept design of a combat USV for frontline reconnaissance and close-range combat. Also that month, HD Hyundai signed a USV development agreement with Anduril Industries.
- November 2025: HD Hyundai and Anduril agreed to jointly design and build an autonomous surface vessel prototype for the US Navy's Modular Attack Surface Craft (MASC) programme. HD HHI builds the vessel at its Ulsan shipyard. Anduril installs its Lattice mission autonomy in the United States. HD Hyundai supplies the navigation autonomy, with group company Avikus providing autonomous navigation technology already used on commercial ships.
- April 2026: at Sea-Air-Space 2026, a trilateral MOU with Anduril and ABS set up a demonstration and certification framework for autonomous maritime systems, and HD Hyundai and Anduril widened their partnership to UUVs.
In September 2026, HD HHI's Naval Research Institute presented AI autonomy software for USVs at a ship technology conference in Seoul. The software was developed with the Republic of Korea Navy and handles engine-room and safety functions as well as navigation. HD HHI said it would show the technology in the United States in October 2026. The Anduril co-developed USV is scheduled for a launching ceremony in Ulsan in late October 2026, with US demonstrations planned for early 2027. The company's goal for mass production is to build hull blocks in Korea and complete final assembly in the United States. Its competitors in Korea's naval USV market include Hanwha Systems and LIG Nex1.
Primary type & automation activities this supplier delivers:
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Contact HD Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., Ltd.
WEBSITE
https://hd-hhi.comHEADQUARTERS
Korea, Republic of (South)
Company Facts
Founded
1972
Primary Role
Manufacturer
Company Size
-
Primary Region
Asia-Pacific
Annual Sales
-
Funding Stage
Subsidiary / Acquired
Funding Total
-
Keywords
