Hanwha Ocean inks deal to bolster submarine stealth in new research

[Courtesy of Hanwha Ocean]

Hanwha Ocean announced on Wednesday it recently signed a definitive contract with the Korea Research Institute for Defense Technology Planning and Advancement (KRIT) to conduct research on technologies for developing new degaussing devices for submarines. The devices aim to reduce the magnetic field generated by submarines to evade detection by adversaries.

Under the contract, Hanwha Ocean plans to conduct research until May 2028 and proceed with the production of prototypes to verify their performance. The company specifically aims to enhance the stealth capabilities of its submarines by developing technologies such as component coils, control units, power supplies, and magnetic sensor designs.

This marks another research initiative focusing on national security technologies won by Hanwha Ocean, following its selection as the preferred negotiator for the unmanned submarine energy source system project led by the Agency for Defense Development last month. This project involves the development of a hydrogen fuel cell system that can be applied to multipurpose modular unmanned submarines.

As the only company that has built all types of submarines for the South Korean Navy since its 1,200-ton submarine, Jang Bogo, in 1987, Hanwha Ocean has manufactured nine Jang Bogo-I vessels, three Jang Bogo-II vessels, and four new 3,000-ton Jang Bogo-III class submarines, among others.

Hanwha Ocean has also developed medium-sized submarines of 3,000 tons or larger, becoming the 8th country in the world to do so after the U.S., U.K., France, Japan, India, Russia, and China. It is also the first Korean company to export six submarines to Indonesia.

“We’ll continue to boost innovation and development with our advanced defense technologies and aim to expand our presence in the global maritime defense market, including the U.S. and European markets,” said a Hanwha Ocean official.