ABS, HD Hyundai and Anduril Industries have signed a memorandum of understanding to develop a framework for autonomous surface vessels covering design, production, autonomy and classification, according to ABS. The agreement brings together HD Hyundai's shipbuilding capabilities, ABS's role in classification, certification and assurance, and Anduril's autonomous systems and artificial intelligence technologies. The signing ceremony took place during the 2026 Sea Air and Space Expo in National Harbor, Maryland. Paul Karam, ABS executive vice president, operations, said the group was focused on the 'safe, practical and scalable adoption' of autonomous surface vessels. WonHo Joo, president and chief executive of the naval and medium-size ships business unit at HD Hyundai, said unmanned vessels were becoming a defining theme in the future naval market.
Cory Emmons, general manager of Anduril Industries' surface dominance division, said the partners had high expectations for the certification processes. ABS is one of the world's three largest classification societies, sharing the global class market with DNV and Lloyd's Register. HD Hyundai, under HD KSOE with Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI), Hyundai Mipo Dockyard (HMD) and Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries (HSHI), holds roughly one-third of the global shipbuilding market — neck-and-neck with China's CSSC. Anduril, founded in 2017 by Palmer Luckey, is a U.S. defense-tech company producing autonomous surface and underwater vehicles, counter-drone systems, Lattice OS software and AI-driven communications.
From a supply chain perspective, the trilateral partnership carries three structural signals. First, USV market scaling: U.S. and allied navies have publicized plans to add 500-1,000 USVs/UUVs to inventory by 2030; the Pentagon's Replicator initiative is the backbone. Pre-resolving the 'class' stage of the supply chain — by combining a top-tier Asian shipbuilder, a Western software/AI firm and a classification society — accelerates time-to-fleet. Second, Türkiye's USV ecosystem: the Turkish USV family — Marlin USV (Aselsan/SEFİNE), ULAQ (ARES Shipyard/METEKSAN), Albatros (Dearsan) and SANCAR (YONCA-ONUK) — can learn from the ABS-HD Hyundai-Anduril model; Turk Loydu's classification capability paired with HAVELSAN/Aselsan AI backbones could anchor a parallel national ecosystem. Third, certification bottleneck in the supply chain: consortia that resolve autonomous decision-making, cyber-physical security, human-out-of-the-loop rules and SOLAS interpretation early will gain a preferred-supplier position — late entrants risk losing 3-5 years closing the certification gap.
Key Takeaways:
1. ABS, HD Hyundai and Anduril Industries signed a trilateral MOU on autonomous surface vessels covering design, production, autonomy and classification.
2. The signing took place at the 2026 Sea Air and Space Expo in Maryland; ABS's Paul Karam emphasized 'safe, practical and scalable' adoption.
3. HD Hyundai holds roughly one-third of global shipbuilding market share, neck-and-neck with China's CSSC; Anduril is the 2017-founded U.S. defense-tech firm led by Palmer Luckey.
4. U.S. and allied navies plan to add 500-1,000 USVs/UUVs by 2030; the Pentagon's Replicator initiative is the backbone.
5. Türkiye's USV family — Marlin/ULAQ/Albatros/SANCAR — can learn from this model; consortia that resolve the certification bottleneck early will gain a 3-5 year advantage.
[portnews-391286]
