South Korean consortium to develop USV platform and systems for ROK Navy

HJ Heavy Industries, LIG Nex1, and HD Hyundai Heavy Industries have formed a consortium to develop integrated control and autonomous mission systems for combat unmanned surface vehicles (USV).

The group has signed an agreement with the Agency for Defence Development to design and build a verification platform for these technologies.

These platforms are intended to perform surveillance, reconnaissance, and combat missions while using AI-based automation to reduce potential casualties.

The project, promoted by the Defence Acquisition Programme Administration and the Defence Technology Advancement Research Institute, aims to secure technology for the Batch-II combat USV system.

This development is a component of the Republic of Korea Navy's manned-unmanned combined combat system, known as “Navy Sea GHOST”.

Under the technical division of the consortium, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries and HJ Heavy Industries are responsible for the design and manufacturing of the USV platform.

LIG Nex1 will focus on developing the integrated control system, weapon control system, and autonomous mission software.

The consortium was selected as the preferred negotiating partner in August 2025 following an evaluation of the proposal.

The project involves building a large-scale USV to verify that the integrated control and autonomous systems function effectively in a combat environment.