SEOUL, October 29 (AJP) - South Korea's Hanwha Group is accelerating its expansion into the United States by teaming up with Havok AI, an American company specializing in autonomous navigation technology.
Hanwha Solutions and Hanwha Ocean said Wednesday that they are exploring strategic cooperation with Havok AI in the development of unmanned maritime systems.
On Tuesday, Havok AI’s chief executive, Paul Lewin, and his team visited Hanwha Ocean’s shipyard in Geoje, South Korea, to review the company’s shipbuilding and maritime systems capabilities. During the visit, engineers conducted a live demonstration of remote vessel control — operating one of Havok AI’s unmanned surface vessels stationed off Hawaii directly from the Geoje facility.
Hanwha sees the partnership as a key step toward entering the global unmanned maritime systems market, particularly in the United States. The move follows Hanwha Systems and Hanwha Ocean’s expansion efforts last year, which included acquiring a shipyard in the Philadelphia.
By combining Hanwha’s expertise in shipbuilding, defense systems, and platform integration with Havok AI’s autonomous navigation software, the companies aim to develop scalable unmanned solutions for both defense and commercial use — technologies that promise to improve operational efficiency and reduce maintenance costs.
“By merging Hanwha’s maritime systems expertise with Havok AI’s autonomous capabilities, we can enhance the value of existing vessels and accelerate the deployment of next-generation unmanned systems,” Lewin said.
Yoo Moon-ki, who leads Hanwha Systems’ maritime division, said the company intends to work closely with Havok AI “to penetrate the global maritime unmanned systems market” by leveraging Hanwha’s combat systems and integration know-how.
* This article, published by Aju Business Daily, was translated by AI and edited by AJP.
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