South Korea's Hanwha Systems launches 30-ton unmanned vessel in July and begins sea trials

en.Wedoany.com Reported - Hanwha Systems announced on July 9 that it has launched a 30-ton unmanned surface vehicle (USV) and commenced sea trials, as part of the company's autonomous naval system development plan. In early June, this internally developed 30-ton unmanned vessel was launched near the Gadeok Bridge in Busan.

Hanwha Systems plans to invest approximately 70 billion Korean won of its own funds to sequentially develop a 30-ton platform and a 140-ton combat-capable unmanned vessel. The 30-ton vessel will serve as a test platform to verify autonomous navigation technology based on artificial intelligence (AI) and an open architecture, with trials continuing until the end of 2027. One of the key objectives of the plan is to comply with the Unmanned Maritime Autonomy Architecture (UMAA), the standard framework for autonomous maritime systems of the U.S. Navy. UMAA is regarded as a critical global standard for enabling collaborative operations of unmanned platforms and interoperability with other weapon systems.

Hanwha Systems will begin demonstrating UMAA compatibility based on autonomous navigation technology verified through its "Haeryeong" reconnaissance unmanned vessel. The sea trials will focus on verifying autonomous navigation in narrow waterways, operations in high sea states, and long-range autonomous missions under actual operating conditions.

Moon-ki Yoo, head of Hanwha Systems' naval business division, stated that by adopting global standards and advanced AI autonomous navigation technology for unmanned surface vehicles, the company aims to expand the global influence of the South Korean Navy's defense industry.