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Korea Herald
7 days ago
- Automotive
- Korea Herald
Hanwha, HD Hyundai set for showdown at MADEX 2025
Shipbuiding rivals zero in on global maritime defense industry with cutting-edge solutions Hanwha and HD Hyundai -- Korea's leading shipbuilders -- are going all out at the International Maritime Defense Industry Exhibition -- MADEX -- 2025 in Busan this week as they both seek to showcase their state-of-the-art maritime defense technologies and solutions with eyes set on wooing global clients. This year's MADEX, a four-day trade show set to begin at Bexco convention center on Wednesday, is expected to gather 150 companies from 12 countries as well as representatives from naval forces of 30 nations and some 15,000 buyers in the defense industry. Hanwha's three defense affiliates -- Hanwha Ocean, Hanwha Aerospace and Hanwha Systems -- will establish the conglomerate's joint exhibition booth together for the first time at the biannual event. Hanwha plans to highlight how the three companies' latest technologies can create and offer future total maritime solutions with Hanwha Ocean boasting top notch surface vessels and submarines, Hanwha Systems' uncrewed combat management system and Hanwha Aerospace's lithium-ion energy storage systems that can boost the operational capabilities of a submarine. Hanwha Ocean will display miniatures of two uncrewed warships, three surface vessels and three submarines, including the Korean Next-Generation Destroyer. The shipbuilder will unveil a combat uncrewed surface vessel for the first time. 'We will present our technologies and future vision based on the synergy between Hanwha's three defense companies at the MADEX 2025,' said a Hanwha official. 'Through Hanwha's capabilities that cover not only the world's top shipbuilding skills but also command and control systems, we will expand strategic cooperation with domestic and overseas customers even further.' HD Hyundai Heavy Industries will join hands with LIG Nex1 to set up an exhibition booth that embodies the shape of a next-generation stealth warship. HD HHI will operate three themes for the exhibition: domestic, export and future warships. For the export-warship-themed section, HD HHI will premiere a high-performance 6,500-tonne-class frigate developed to secure competitiveness in the global market in the future. The shipbuilder will underscore its advanced technologies by displaying a series of uncrewed vessels. HD HHI will focus on strengthening its global competitiveness as it is expected to sign memorandums of understanding with Italian multinational defense firm Leonardo and French multinational defense company Thales to cooperate in developing export-bound warships. According to HD HHI, it will sign an MOU with the Portuguese Navy to co-develop small submarines on Thursday to seek a new market. HD HHI also plans to bolster network with participating countries' defense industry officials and naval forces. 'At a time when the attention around Korea's maritime defense industry is larger than ever, the MADEX 2025 will be a stage where HD Hyundai Heavy Industries proves its unmatched warship technologies said Joo Won-ho, head of HD Hyundai Heavy Industries' special ship business unit. 'HD Hyundai Heavy Industries will continue to pursue the value of openness, convergence and expansion so that Korea's maritime defense industry can coexist and develop in the global market.'
Korea Herald
01-05-2025
- Business
- Korea Herald
Decision time for Korea's next-gen destroyer program
The Korean Next-Generation Destroyer, or KDDX, program, has been pushed back once again, dampening the country's roadmap to strengthen its naval forces and letting the fight between its top two shipbuilders -- Hanwha Ocean and HD Hyundai Heavy Industries -- intensify. The KDDX, a 7.8 trillion won ($5.5 billion) project to build six 6,000-ton-class next-generation Aegis-equipped destroyers, was supposed to have a conclusion on who will build these state-of-the-art warships using homegrown technologies by July last year. The KDDX program is crucial for not only strengthening the country's naval forces but also enhancing its shipbuilding capabilities. The KDDX program has four steps of concept design, basic design, detail design and building the first ship and building the rest of the ships. Hanwha Ocean won the contract for concept design in 2012 while HD HHI secured the contract for basic design. Industry experts expected HD HHI to ink the detail design contract to build the first ship but Hanwha Ocean raised the issue of the military secret mishandling of some HD HHI employees and called for a competitive bidding process. The Defense Acquisition Program Administration has irresponsibly dragged out the selection process instead of taking the helm of the matter. The DAPA handed over the authority to designate defense firms for the KDDX program to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, which later designated both Hanwha and HD Hyundai as suitors. In the meantime, Hanwha and HD Hyundai has been going back and forth both publicly and behind the scenes to claim that each of them should be the one to take charge of the KDDX program. The rivalry between the two conglomerates has continued to intensify while the DAPA did not make up its mind. Some even say that one of the reasons Korea came up short in the bidding for the Australian government's 10-trillion-won project to acquire 11 frigates was the growing feud between Hanwha and HD Hyundai. To be fair, choosing the right builder for the KDDX is not an easy task but DAPA's hesitation and naive approach have done little to resolve the issue. As the government is seemingly being careful and thorough in sourcing out the naval empowerment project, it must recognize that the drifting situation could be harming the reputation of the country's maritime defense industry at a time when the US is seeking Korea's cooperation in the shipbuilding sector. About 400 small to medium-sized companies are also involved in the KDDX project as they work with the shipyards of Hanwha and HD Hyundai. The longer the DAPA delays its final say, the more financial difficulties await these local firms, ultimately hurting the country's shipbuilding industry as a whole. Now that the DAPA has failed to make the decision by the last day of April when it held a meeting of the defense project committee, the fate of the KDDX is likely to be decided after the presidential election on June 3 and the new defense authorities are appointed, meaning that the project is expected to be postponed for over a year. Although it is already late to make the call, the DAPA should recognize that being late is better than being never.
