Latest news with #SeaAirSpace
South China Morning Post
13-04-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
US looks to South Korea as it tries to revive shipbuilding and catch up to China
The United States is looking to South Korea as it tries to boost shipbuilding capacity in response to the 'desperate reality' of China's rapid navy build-up , a move that could strengthen US power projection in the region, analysts say. Advertisement South Korean shipbuilding giant HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) on Monday said it had signed a memorandum of understanding to cooperate with US firm Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII). HHI said the 'ship alliance' was signed during this week's Sea Air Space 2025 defence exhibition in Washington. It said the aim was to 'maximise the production efficiency of shipbuilding, while sharing know-how and capabilities to improve shipbuilding costs and delivery times'. 'We expect that cooperation between the representative shipbuilding companies of Korea and the US, who are blood allies, will not only develop the shipbuilding industry of both countries but also greatly contribute to strengthening security cooperation,' said Joo Won-ho, chief executive of naval and special shipbuilding at HHI. The cooperation will include promoting process automation and the introduction of robots and artificial intelligence to build a digital shipyard, according to the HHI statement. HII and HHI, two of the world's leading shipbuilders, signed a memorandum of understanding this week during the Sea Air Space expo in Washington. Photo: Handout HHI is one of the world's largest shipbuilders, with a market share of about 10 per cent, according to its website. It has the capacity to build naval surface and underwater combatants and auxiliary vessels.
Yahoo
08-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
F/A-XX could be the Navy's last piloted fighter, bring greater range
NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — The Navy's upcoming sixth-generation fighter may be its last manned fighter, the director of the service's air warfare division said Tuesday. F/A-XX will include new capabilities and technologies, such as artificial intelligence and machine learning, Rear Adm. Michael Donnelly said at the Navy League's Sea Air Space conference. The upgrades will provide more battlespace awareness and improve how naval aviators make decisions. Those technological advancements could help bring the Navy into a new era where piloted and unmanned aircraft operate more closely together, such as with the Navy's planned AI-operated drone wingmen, known as collaborative combat aircraft, or larger, unmanned platforms that might come in the future. 'It could be our last tactical manned fighter that we operate out of the Navy,' Donnelly said. 'It will actually be at a point where we are more man-on-the-loop than man-in-the-loop, and be the bridge to fully integrating towards the hybrid air wing [combining crewed and uncrewed platforms] in the future, in the 2040s.' Donnelly said the F/A-XX will allow the Navy to operate in contested environments and outmatch adversaries in ways that surpass the Navy's current fighters. 'We do that today, but we do it at parity because of the capabilities we have fielded today,' Donnelly said. 'So F/A-XX is going to be that next improvement.' Navy officials would not say when an announcement on F/A-XX would be made, but it could come soon. The Air Force's counterpart to the Navy's F/A-XX — the Boeing-made F-47 Next Generation Air Dominance fighter — was announced by President Donald Trump in an Oval Office event March 21. Breaking Defense reported last month that Lockheed Martin had been eliminated from the running for F/A-XX, leaving Boeing and Northrop Grumman as the remaining competitors. At the Sea Air Space event, Donnelly told reporters that F/A-XX is expected to be able to fly more than 25% farther than Navy's current fighters before having to top up with a refueling tanker. The F/A-18 Super Hornet has a combat range of about 1,275 nautical miles, and the carrier-based F-35C Joint Strike Fighter can fly more than 1,200 nautical miles. 'That's a core attribute of the F/A-XX,' Donnelly told reporters. 'It will definitely have longer inherent range, and then with refueling, you could say that's indefinite, as long as refueling is available.'
Yahoo
07-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
HII and HD Hyundai Heavy Industries Sign Memorandum of Understanding
NATIONAL HARBOR, Md., April 07, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- HII (NYSE: HII) and HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI), two of the world's leading shipbuilders across multiple classes of ships, signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) today to explore opportunities to collaborate on accelerating ship production in support of defense and commercial shipbuilding projects. The signing ceremony took place in HII's booth at Sea Air Space, the largest global maritime expo in North America, and was attended by HII Executive Vice President and President of Ingalls Shipbuilding Brian Blanchette and Won-ho Joo, chief executive of the naval & special ship business unit at HHI. 'Today's agreement reflects our commitment to explore all opportunities to expand U.S. shipbuilding capacity in support of national security,' Blanchette said. 'By working with our shipbuilding allies and sharing best practices, we believe this MOU offers real potential to help accelerate delivery of quality ships.' This strategic partnership aims to leverage the combined expertise and resources of both companies to advance technological innovation, maximize production efficiency, and strengthen the global defense industry. 'This partnership marks a new milestone for both of our companies and provides us with the unique opportunity to expand our expertise in shipbuilding,' Won-ho Joo said. 'We look forward to working with HII to explore new possibilities and deliver even greater value to our customers.' The efforts applied under the MOU aim to increase the collective maritime industrial base strength of both the U.S. and South Korea. A photo accompanying this release will be available following the signing event at: About HII HII is a global, all-domain defense provider. HII's mission is to deliver the world's most powerful ships and all-domain solutions in service of the nation, creating the advantage for our customers to protect peace and freedom around the world. As the nation's largest military shipbuilder, and with a more than 135-year history of advancing U.S. national security, HII delivers critical capabilities extending from ships to unmanned systems, cyber, ISR, AI/ML and synthetic training. Headquartered in Virginia, HII's workforce is 44,000 strong. For more information, visit: HII on the web: HII on Facebook: HII on X: HII on Instagram: About HHI: HHI is the world's number one shipbuilder, leads the global shipbuilding industry with roughly 10% share of the market. It had delivered more than 2,300 ships to 335 shipowners in 51 countries until 2023. As a licensed national defense industrial shipbuilder and engineering consultant for the Republic of Korean Navy, has the technology to design and build modern and reliable surface and underwater combatants and auxiliary support vessels of various proven and advanced hull forms. With 50 years of naval shipbuilding experience and accumulated warship technology, HHI operates as one of the most reputable naval shipbuilders in the world. For more information, visit: HHI on the web: HII Contact:Kimberly K. HHI ContactSeong Gu in to access your portfolio
