South Korea to Develop 38-Meter Missile-Equipped MUSV for U.S. Navy Operations.

Hanwha Defense USA and Magnet Defense are moving into the U.S. Navy’s fast-growing uncrewed vessel space with a partnership to develop a medium unmanned surface vessel built for future military requirements. Medium Unmanned Surface Vessels (MUSV) could extend naval reach, support distributed operations, and give U.S. forces a lower-risk way to sustain presence across contested maritime zones.

The partnership combines Hanwha’s industrial scale with Magnet Defense’s autonomy expertise to pursue a vessel designed for long-range operations and rapid deployment. That capability aligns with a broader shift toward uncrewed maritime systems that can boost survivability, widen surveillance coverage, and strengthen force projection without putting sailors in harm’s way.

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The new Hanwha-Magnet MUSV could extend U.S. Navy presence, support distributed operations, and reduce crew risk in contested zones.  (Picture source: Hanwha USA)

The memorandum of understanding signed by the two companies covers the development of a 38-meter vessel for the U.S. market. The industrial logic is straightforward. Magnet Defense contributes a technological base already tested in autonomous navigation, while Hanwha Defense USA intends to add manufacturing capacity, integration expertise and, eventually, industrial production on American soil. That combination reflects a familiar reality in the naval defense sector: the effectiveness of an uncrewed system depends not only on its autonomy software, but also on the strength of its production chain, its supportability, and its ability to be built in series within timelines that match operational demand.

Announced during the Sea-Air-Space 2026 exhibition held in Maryland, the partnership was outlined by Hanwha Defense USA in a statement released on April 20, 2026, in National Harbor. The company said the future MUSV would build on experience derived from Magnet Defense’s M48, presented as the reference basis for the new project. According to the same source, the vessel has a range of 17,000 nautical miles, placing it in a notably high-endurance category for this type of ship. Hanwha Defense USA also stated that the M48 completed a round trip between Miami and American Samoa in 2024, covering a reported 32,000 nautical miles, including a transit through the Panama Canal and operations in Sea State 9 conditions. In the material released by Hanwha, several illustrative images of the project also show a vessel fitted with containers on deck, while one of the visuals depicts a missile launch from a containerized module installed on board. Those images support the idea of a design intended from the outset to carry modular payloads and, potentially, onboard effectors.

The future 38-meter vessel is expected to retain that technical foundation while adapting it to broader military requirements. A ship of that length offers enough usable volume to accommodate a range of payloads, whether sensors, communications equipment, electronic warfare systems, or modular onboard weapons. Hanwha Defense USA has also indicated that its own weapon systems could be associated with the architecture being developed with Magnet Defense, although no specific missile, radar or propulsion package has yet been formally identified. Still, the announced dimensions, the endurance claimed on the basis of the M48, and the emphasis placed on a containerized layout provide a fairly clear indication of the intended role: a vessel able to embark interchangeable mission modules depending on operational needs.

For several years, the U.S. Navy has been looking for uncrewed vessels able to maintain a presence at sea over extended periods at a lower cost than large crewed combatants. In that context, an MUSV in this class can help extend naval presence, relay communications, conduct forward surveillance, or move mission modules into areas where tactical risk is high. The greater the range, the greater the operational value along long maritime lines of communication. At the same time, the absence of a crew immediately reduces human exposure during the most contested missions, even if it does not remove support constraints or vulnerabilities linked to data links, cyber resilience, and the reliability of autonomy in a degraded electronic environment.

A vessel of this kind can perform several roles depending on its mission architecture. Deployed ahead of a naval force, it can widen the detection depth and contribute to an early warning posture. Used as a modular carrier, it can also embark payloads suited to maritime surveillance, anti-surface warfare, logistics support, or communications relay missions. Within a distributed combat framework, its main value lies in the ability to increase the number of units at sea, complicate adversary targeting, and preserve crewed warships for missions where their presence remains essential. Such a ship does not replace a frigate or a destroyer, but it can complement them by taking on some presence, tactical sensing, or payload-delivery functions.

The agreement is not limited to the vessel itself. Hanwha Defense USA is also highlighting the development of robotic shipyards and advanced production capabilities. That industrial aspect deserves attention because it aligns with a growing concern in the United States: producing faster, on national territory, with more automation and less dependence on industrial cycles that are too slow. In other words, the partnership with Magnet Defense is not simply intended to offer a new vessel. It is also part of a wider industrial logic in which manufacturing speed, adaptability of the production base, and cost control become nearly as important as the ship’s own performance.

This cooperation also sheds light on Hanwha’s broader U.S. strategy. After establishing itself as a credible supplier in land artillery with the K9 Thunder, while also promoting the K9A2 and the K9A3 concept in several markets, the opening of an uncrewed naval line in the United States points to a deeper effort to position itself inside future American programs. The connection with the prospects surrounding the K9 and its possible developments for the U.S. Army is not direct in capability terms, but it is relevant from an industrial and political standpoint. In both cases, Hanwha is trying to show that it can manufacture locally, integrate into the U.S. defense industrial base, and offer systems viewed as credible, available within short timelines, and suited to a more distributed form of high-volume warfare. If that approach gains traction, it could influence how Washington assesses not only uncrewed vessels in the future, but also some South Korean artillery solutions for the U.S. Army.

Written By Erwan Halna du Fretay - Defense Analyst, Army Recognition Group
Erwan Halna du Fretay holds a Master’s degree in International Relations and has experience studying conflicts and global arms transfers. His research interests lie in security and strategic studies, particularly the dynamics of the defense industry, the evolution of military technologies, and the strategic transformation of armed forces.