In January 2026, Hanwha Defense USA (a U.S. subsidiary of South Korea’s Hanwha Group) and HavocAI of Rhode Island jointly agreed to build 200-foot autonomous surface vessels (ASVs). The two companies agreed to a memorandum of understanding to leverage Hanwha’s shipbuilding prowess and HavocAI’s "collaborative autonomy" software to develop and mass-produce large unmanned ships. Hanwha is currently considering the Philadelphia Shipyard for the final assembly of the unmanned ships. This new project is expected to be in line with the new Modular Attack Surface Craft (MASC) program announced by the U.S. Navy, which is looking for flexible and modular unmanned ships for anti-ship, strike, and information warfare.
According to the press release by Hanwha, this collaboration is the first of its kind, as Hanwha "is currently the only shipbuilder with an operational shipyard in the United States to enter into a joint agreement with an autonomous vessels company." Hanwha’s collaboration with HavocAI will enable the company to provide large-scale shipbuilding services to its U.S. defense clients.
Background of Hanwha and HavocAI
Hanwha Group is a large South Korean conglomerate with extensive defense, aerospace, and shipbuilding operations. Its U.S. subsidiary, Hanwha Defense USA (HDUSA), is a subsidiary of Hanwha Aerospace and develops and manufactures land and sea combat systems. HDUSA has been growing its presence in the U.S. – including the acquisition of the Philadelphia Shipyard – to produce advanced weapons and ships for the U.S. military. Hanwha also has Hanwha Ocean (a leading Korean shipbuilder at Geoje) and Hanwha Systems (which develops naval combat management systems and sensors).
HavocAI is a startup company based in the Washington area, founded in early 2024 by U.S. Navy veterans. The company’s purpose is to provide autonomy software for naval ships. HavocAI has quickly emerged as a major force in naval autonomy, having already delivered more than 30 unmanned surface vessels (USVs) to the U.S. military and having shown "GPS-denied" autonomy capabilities to the world. According to media reports, the flagship small USV of HavocAI, the 14-foot Rampage, has a range of 100 nautical miles at 15 knots and a 300-pound payload. Notably, the software developed by HavocAI is intended to be "scalable" and to operate on "anything, anywhere," from small craft to large ships.
HavocAI has secured significant investment and contracts. In late 2025, it finished an $85 million funding round (total raised is close to $100M) with Lockheed Martin and Hanwha among the investors. The U.S. military has already placed orders for dozens of HavocAI’s boats. The Navy’s "Silent Swarm" exercise has led to the purchase of a dozen Rampage USVs at about $100,000 each, and HavocAI has contracts with the U.S. Army, Navy, and Defense Innovation Unit. These contracts represent the Pentagon’s need for attritable unmanned boats that can be rapidly deployed. The Hanwha-HavocAI ASV project follows an October 2025 demonstration at Hanwha’s Geoje shipyard: HavocAI operated multiple USVs in a "force protection" mission off the coast of Hawaii, with control beyond line-of-sight from Korea.
Design and Capabilities of the 200-Foot ASVs
Few details have been released regarding the proposed 200-foot ASVs – which will probably represent a new generation of large USVs. We do know that the hull will be 200 feet (≈61 meters) long, and that it will be completely autonomous (no crew). Hanwha’s press release stresses mass production and combining successful shipbuilding with state-of-the-art autonomy. These will probably be modular and mission-specific to meet the Navy’s MASC requirements. In comparison, HavocAI’s current Rampage USV is all-electric with a 15 kt top speed and ~100 nm range; a 200-foot vessel could easily outperform this with more powerful engines, fuel, or even hybrid power plants.
With a length of 200 feet, the ASV could carry much heavier payloads than current USVs. Hanwha has demonstrated “combat USV” designs featuring anti-ship missiles, rocket launchers, radar, electro-optical sensors, and UAV launchers (see illustration above) – suggesting what kinds of systems might be carried on a large ASV. In Hanwha’s presentation materials, the ASV is proposed with a variety of weaponry: for instance, an omni-directional camera, a 20mm remote cannon, guided rocket launchers, a 130mm guided rocket system, anti-ship cruise missiles (tactical surface-to-surface), as well as countermeasure decoys and UAVs. Clearly, the 200-foot ASV could be a multi-mission platform. Its autonomous control system (supplied by HavocAI) would integrate navigation, targeting, and weapon control, possibly enabling a single operator to control massive numbers of such drones.
Military Applications
The 200-foot ASVs are primarily designed for military employment by U.S. forces. These ASVs are part of the U.S. Navy’s Modular Attack Surface Craft (MASC) program. The MASC program seeks to integrate "essential capabilities" from the medium and large USV programs into a modular craft designed for surface warfare, strike, electronic warfare, and information operations. This could include armed drones for anti-ship or land attack, long endurance patrol craft, or autonomous missile "trucks" that can saturate an enemy with missiles. As one analyst noted, a 200-foot unmanned craft "should be large enough to install a decent VLS (vertical-launch missile) armament" and could be used as a semi-expendable magazine escort craft for manned ships.
Possible military roles include:
- Anti-ship/Strike Warfare: The ability to carry anti-ship missiles, rockets, or guns to attack enemy ships or shore targets. According to the Naval Sea Systems Command, MASC ships are designed to improve anti-surface and strike attack capabilities. Hanwha’s combat USV design (above) goes so far as to include a tactical surface-to-surface missile.
- Maritime Patrol and Reconnaissance: Long-range surveillance of disputed areas with the use of radar, cameras, or sonar. Unlike manned vessels, unmanned ones can stay for a long time without being affected by crew fatigue.
- Force Protection: Serving as autonomous escorts or loitering sentries for ports, ships, or amphibious units. In the Geoje/Hawaii demo, the HavocAI boats demonstrated a "force protection" mission, which is basically patrolling for threats under remote control.
- Electronic Warfare/C2: Acting as mobile jamming stations or communication relays. USVs can be equipped with antennas, decoys, and sensors. (Hanwha has pointed out how its knowledge of warships could be combined with HavocAI’s autonomy to "expand the utility of existing vessels" through new unmanned systems.)
- Mine Countermeasures/ASW Support: In the future, swarms of unmanned vessels might be used to search for mines or even launch decoys and torpedoes for submarine protection (although specific plans for these purposes have not been announced).
In each of these capacities, the ASVs would provide risk reduction and force multiplication. They can function in high-risk areas, including GPS-denied areas, where manned vessels would be vulnerable. The ability to function in a coordinated manner in a GPS-denied environment has been demonstrated by HavocAI. The ASVs can also function in swarms. The CEO of HavocAI believes that "thousands of autonomous vessels" can function together with minimal manpower. A Navy spokesperson indicates that the modular unmanned strategy of MASC "will transform our surface fleet’s capabilities - enabling distributed lethality and battlespace awareness across multiple mission domains."
Commercial and Civilian Uses
Though this collaboration is primarily for defense purposes, there is increasing interest in large unmanned ships for commercial applications. There are various civilian applications being developed for autonomous ships. For instance, Ørsted (an offshore wind farm company in Denmark) developed an USV that could autonomously transport meteorological and oceanographic sensors to proposed wind farm locations. Ørsted’s USV, designed for long-range surveys, provides high-resolution wind, wave, and ecological observations without requiring a manned support ship. By extension, a large autonomous ship could be equipped for cargo transport (autonomous freighters), pipeline/cable survey, and marine research (mapping or environmental surveys).
Production Plans, Funding and Contracts
Hanwha and HavocAI claim they will expedite the process from design to production. Under the agreement reached in January 2026, the companies will engage in "mass production planning, installation, and proposal development" for the ASVs. The production will be done in accordance with the U.S. Navy’s MASC solicitation process, using a flexible acquisition strategy (most likely through Other Transaction Agreements) to expedite the process and make it cost-effective. Hanwha’s CEO Michael Coulter stated that the collaboration between Hanwha and HavocAI will enable the delivery of "state-of-the-art ASVs at scale for American service members," while also encouraging other solutions in the Pentagon procurement pipeline. HavocAI’s CEO Paul Lwin stated that the Navy needs "more boats, faster, with more capabilities, for less money," and that the collaboration with Hanwha (which has worldwide manufacturing infrastructure) helps to meet that need.
In terms of what HavocAI actually brings to the table, it has recent financial investment and existing contracts. The $85M funding round (Sept. 2025) was specifically aimed at "accelerating the production of its unmanned surface vessels." The interest of the U.S. military is evident, as HavocAI "confirmed sales of dozens of vessels" to the "Department of War" and already has existing contracts with the Army, Navy, and defense innovation organizations. According to one industry report, HavocAI’s current product offerings include 14-100 ft USVs, such as the 100-foot Atlas and 42-foot Kaikoa, with others in development stages. These existing programs help to lay the foundation for scaling up to a 200-foot design.
Hanwha’s non-defense business also has the scale to produce multiple ships per year at the Philly yard, while Hanwha Systems has the ability to integrate the combat management and C4ISR systems. While the financial details of the MOU have not been made public, it is clear that Hanwha’s participation reflects significant South Korean investment in U.S. defense projects. It is perhaps no coincidence that Hanwha has also won a contract to produce Korean missiles in Poland at around the same time.
Implications for the Industry
The Hanwha-HavocAI collaboration is part of a larger trend in naval warfare and shipbuilding. For the U.S., it looks set to hasten the emerging unmanned surface naval force. The Navy’s own leadership has indicated that MASC’s modular unmanned surface ships will "transform our surface fleet’s capabilities" through distributed lethality in multiple domains. If realized, 200-foot ASVs would go a long way in expanding U.S. presence in the oceans without putting lives on the line. They also introduce competition into the market. Hanwha indicated that only a few shipbuilders have committed to autonomy initiatives. For instance, Hyundai Heavy Industries is collaborating with Anduril on its USVs. Hanwha’s arrival ensures that the market is not controlled by one player.
Internationally, the development represents the pace at which allied defense cooperation is propelling unmanned technology. A Korean firm collaborating on the development of U.S. warships is a symbolic gesture in light of the security environment in the Pacific. It is also a message to rival nations, such as China, which is building large USVs in the form of its "Killer Whale" drone.
In conclusion, the Hanwha-Havoc AI ASV is a major wager on unmanned maritime capabilities. As one defense expert stated, such massive USVs could effectively serve as "missile trucks" or "surveillance nodes" – a force multiplier for manned ships. With the demand for unmanned systems on the rise, this collaboration has the impetus and support to make 200-foot unmanned warships a reality in the next few years.
