Magnet Defense partners with Hanwha Defense USA to produce 38-meter Medium Unmanned Surface Vessels

Magnet Defense LLC has formalized a strategic partnership with Hanwha Defense USA (HDUSA) to manufacture Medium Unmanned Surface Vessels (MUSVs) for the US Department of War. Signed at the 2026 Sea-Air-Space Exposition, the Memorandum of Understanding outlines the joint production of 38-meter vessels and the development of AI-driven robotic shipyards. Magnet Defense CEO Marc Bell and Co-Founder/CTO George Wallner are leading the integration of their M48 platform, which features a 17,000 to 32,000 nautical mile range, with Hanwha's advanced missile systems and manufacturing robotics.

This collaboration addresses the critical requirement for long-endurance, autonomous maritime assets capable of operating in Sea State 9 conditions and contested environments. By combining Magnet Defense's proven autonomy stack with Hanwha's large-scale manufacturing capacity and robotics, the partnership targets the gap between lab-tested software and real-world maritime deployment. The move places Magnet Defense at the center of the uncrewed maritime shift, moving beyond simple hardware provision into the realm of automated, AI-integrated shipyard production. This vertical integration of autonomy and advanced manufacturing is essential as the US defense sector seeks to scale uncrewed fleets rapidly.

Magnet Defense must now prove that its AI-driven robotic shipyard concept can scale from a prototype to a high-rate production environment. The success of this partnership depends on the seamless integration of Hanwha's kinetic missile systems with the M48's autonomy stack during high-sea-state testing. For defense procurement officers, the primary metric will be the reliability of these autonomous systems in sustained, long-range mission profiles without human intervention.