October 29, 2025 — Hanwha said it is exploring strategic cooperation with U.S.-based autonomy specialist HavocAI as part of plans to accelerate its expansion into the global unmanned maritime systems market, including the United States.
On October 28, Paul Lwin, CEO of HavocAI, and members of his research team visited Hanwha Ocean’s Geoje shipyard to assess the company’s shipbuilding and maritime-systems capabilities. During the visit, HavocAI conducted a live demonstration in which an unmanned surface vessel (USV) equipped with HavocAI autonomy software off the coast of Hawaii was remotely operated from Geoje, South Korea.
Hanwha described the engagement as an important first step toward concrete collaboration and a foundation for proactive entry into the fast-growing global market for autonomous maritime and naval systems.
Leveraging Hanwha Group’s established presence in naval shipbuilding and defense electronics, Hanwha Ocean and Hanwha Systems have been strengthening their foothold in the U.S. market following Hanwha’s acquisition of Philly Shipyard in 2024. The two companies now plan to pursue deeper collaboration that would combine Hanwha Ocean’s shipbuilding expertise with Hanwha Systems’ platform-integration and advanced naval systems — including its Combat Management System (CMS), Engineering Control System (ECS) and Condition Based Maintenance System (CBMS) — together with HavocAI’s autonomous-operation software.
The partners said they aim to develop practical, scalable solutions to enhance both defense and commercial maritime operations, improve lifecycle efficiency and reduce maintenance costs.
“By combining Hanwha Group’s naval-systems expertise with HavocAI’s autonomy technology, we can extend the operational life and value of existing vessels while enabling faster deployment of new unmanned systems,” Paul Lwin, co-founder and CEO of HavocAI, said.
“Leveraging Hanwha Systems’ maritime-integration capabilities and the synergies of Hanwha’s affiliated companies, we will work closely with HavocAI to achieve tangible progress in entering the global market for autonomous maritime systems,” Ryu Moon-Ghee, head of the Naval Business Division at Hanwha Systems, added.
