HD Hyundai Heavy Industries said on the 16th that a delegation including U.S. Chief of Naval Operations Daryl Caudle and acting U.S. ambassador to Korea Kevin Kim visited the Ulsan headquarters of HD Hyundai Heavy Industries on the 15th. HD Hyundai Chairman Chung Ki-sun met with Chief of Naval Operations Daryl Caudle that day to directly introduce the world's top-tier technology and competitiveness in shipbuilding and exchanged views on MASGA ("Make American Shipbuilding Great Again"), a Korea-U.S. shipbuilding cooperation project.
Chairman Chung and Chief of Naval Operations Daryl Caudle discussed Korea-U.S. shipbuilding cooperation measures to improve the operational readiness of the U.S. Navy fleet during their talk that day. Afterward, Chief Caudle, guided by Chairman Chung, toured a commercial ship construction site and then visited the naval and medium-sized ship division of HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, which builds top-class EGIS destroyers and other warships.
Chief Caudle boarded the Dasan Jeong Yak-yong, the second unit of the latest EGIS-class destroyer recently launched and built by HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, and received a briefing from the captain on the advanced combat system and operational capabilities. Caudle spoke about issues such as the U.S. Navy's fleet shortfall and was said to be deeply concerned that the size of the fleet has significantly decreased compared with the U.S. Navy of the 1980s, when he enlisted.
He reportedly showed interest by directly observing production lines for key warships, asking Chairman Chung about the delivery schedule for the third EGIS destroyer currently under construction. He also heard an explanation from Chairman Chung about the unmanned surface vessel development project underway between HD Hyundai and U.S. defense Start - Up Anduril.
HD Hyundai Group plans to boost competitiveness across warships, commercial ships, and medium-sized ships through the merger of shipbuilding subsidiaries HD Hyundai Heavy Industries and HD Hyundai Mipo. It is pushing a business reorganization to maximize synergy across the shipbuilding institutional sector and aims to expand exports and cooperative projects in the global defense market, including the United States. HD Hyundai Heavy Industries is proactively advancing into key defense markets, including the United States, India, and Latin America.
Chairman Chung said, "We will lend our strength to help enhance the capabilities of the U.S. shipbuilding industry and bolster U.S. naval power," adding, "We will do our utmost to ensure that MASGA, the shipbuilding cooperation project between Korea and the United States, allies and friends, can succeed."