HD Hyundai is stepping up momentum in building a robust U.S.-Korea naval and defense shipbuilding alliance by accelerating technological and operational cooperation with Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII), the largest military shipbuilder in the United States.

HD Hyundai announced on August 5 that it has officially launched a "Pilot Project for Shipyard Productivity Enhancement" at HII's Ingalls Shipbuilding facility located in Mississippi, USA.

This initiative represents a concrete follow-up step to the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed between the two defense and maritime giants in April last year, which focused on improving shipbuilding productivity and partnering on advanced naval construction technologies.

Deployment of Proprietary Intelligent Welding Systems

Under this pilot program, HD Hyundai will introduce its proprietary, self-developed intelligent welding system to the Ingalls Shipbuilding facility. This cutting-edge system is a field-proven technology that is actively operating across major HD Hyundai group shipyards in South Korea, including HD Hyundai Heavy Industries and HD Hyundai Samho.

According to HD Hyundai, the intelligent welding system allows welding operations to be executed with significantly higher safety and efficiency. The system automatically recognizes the work target and operating conditions, dynamically adjusting and recalibrating welding positions in real time. As a result, human operators can oversee multiple automated welding robots simultaneously, intervening only when necessary.

In addition, the system automatically logs operational data in real time, enabling precise quality management, continuous process refinement, and comprehensive trackability of work history throughout the vessel construction lifecycle.

Expanding the Scope of Digital & Autonomous Shipbuilding

Starting with this initial pilot project, both companies intend to further accelerate the pace of their shipbuilding collaboration. Beyond the implementation of welding automation, the MOU signed last year encompasses a comprehensive range of shipbuilding operations. Key areas of partnership include:

Process automation

Digital shipyard development using robotics and Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Enhancing production efficiency by combining naval ship construction expertise and operational capabilities
Training specialized production personnel and expanding participation in regional equipment supply chains
"This collaboration provides an opportunity to extend the scope of automation deeper into our production stages, allowing us to combine and integrate best practices from both companies as we construct state-of-the-art U.S. Navy vessels."

— Brian Blanchette, President of Ingalls Shipbuilding
"This joint project serves as a crucial milestone that will solidify our strategic partnership and widen our scope of cooperation. It will substantially boost naval vessel construction efficiency and deliver significantly higher value to our customers."

— Won-ho Joo, President of HD Hyundai Heavy Industries

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