US Navy Senior Officers Show Interest in Warship Project
Global Facilities with Advanced Technology Receive Praise
Exploring Cooperation in Both Warship MRO and Construction
The United States Navy visited the Siheung R&D Campus, the growth engine hub of Hanwha Ocean.
Hanwha Ocean explained that the visit was prompted by the U.S. Navy's growing interest in the advanced facilities equipped with cutting-edge technology that reflects a significant technological gap.
After recently winning a U.S. naval vessel MRO contract and establishing a relationship with the U.S. Navy, Hanwha Ocean stated that it is strengthening ties by exploring additional areas of potential cooperation.
On the 27th, Hanwha Ocean announced that at the Siheung R&D Campus in Gyeonggi Province, President Kim Heecheol and Special Ship Division Head Uh Seongcheol met with U.S. Navy ship program leaders, including Rear Admiral Thomas Anderson and Rear Admiral William Greene of NAVSEA (Naval Sea Systems Command), officials from the U.S. Embassy in Korea, and Shin Hyunseung, Director of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration’s Ship Program Division, to discuss mutual cooperation.
Opened in 2018, the Siheung R&D Campus is Hanwha Ocean’s core hub where its technological capabilities are concentrated. The campus houses world-class facilities such as the nation’s largest joint tank, towing tank, and the acoustic tank?regarded as the pinnacle of defense technology.
During the visit, the U.S. Navy delegation had the opportunity to directly observe some of the world’s leading R&D facilities, including the eco-friendly fuel Land Based Test Site (LBTS), joint tank, towing tank, and model production room.
The eco-friendly fuel LBTS owned by Hanwha Ocean is a facility for testing green fuel technologies for decarbonization, such as commercial-grade fuel cells, lithium-ion batteries, next-generation batteries, shaft generators, and ammonia propulsion.
The lithium-ion energy storage system (ESS) for submarines, developed by Hanwha Aerospace, also attracted significant interest from the U.S. Navy. It is known that if a submarine is equipped with both the ESS and a hydrogen fuel cell-based air-independent propulsion (AIP) system, it can conduct covert underwater operations for up to three weeks.
After touring the site, the U.S. Navy delegation applauded Hanwha Ocean’s unrivaled naval technology, which is promoted under the banner of a ‘Global Ocean Solution Provider.’
Rear Admiral Thomas Anderson said, “Thank you for explaining Hanwha Ocean’s R&D capabilities. Hanwha Ocean’s capabilities and investments are very impressive, and I hope that in the future, there will be opportunities for mutual benefit in the shipbuilding R&D sector between Korea and the United States.”
President Kim Heecheol stated, “We are grateful that the U.S. Navy visited Hanwha Ocean and showed interest in our latest technologies. I hope this will serve as a stepping stone not only for the U.S. Navy’s MRO business but also for future technical exchanges necessary for naval vessel construction.”
A general officer delegation leading the U.S. Navy shipbuilding program visited Hanwha Ocean Siheung R&D Campus in Siheung, Gyeonggi Province on the 27th, toured the facilities, and then posed for the camera. (From the third person from the left in the first row: Vice President Seungkyun Jung, Head of Special Ship Overseas Business Division; Vice President Youngchang Son, Head of Product Strategy Technology Institute; Admiral William Green, U.S. Navy NAVSEA; President Heechul Kim, Hanwha Ocean; Admiral Thomas Anderson; Brigadier General Hyunseung Shin, Head of Shipbuilding Division, Defense Acquisition Program Administration; President Seongcheol Uh, Special Ship Business Division).
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