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- [Announcer] "Defense News" is proudly sponsored
by Navy Federal Credit Union.
If you're a member of our nation's armed forces,
the Department of Defense, or if your family is,
we'd be proud to serve you, too.
On this episode of "Defense News Weekly,"
we wrap up our coverage
from the 2026 Sea-Air-Space Conference.
This week, updates on shipbuilding.
We talk to shipbuilders, HII and Hanwha,
about their efforts to expand production.
Plus, a look at a new surface drone
for mapping and communications.
Also, updates on pay and benefits news
for troops and veterans.
It's the latest in news and analysis
from the Pentagon to the platoon
here on "Defense News Weekly."
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Welcome back to "Defense News Weekly."
In the halls of the Pentagon, Capitol Hill,
and major defense companies,
there is no bigger topic than shipbuilding.
The need to increase the rate
of naval production looms large.
At Sea-Air-Space 2026, we talked to two companies
working on the problem: HII and Hanwha.
Here's some of what they had to say.
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- I'm Duane Fotheringham.
I'm the president of the unmanned systems
business unit within HII.
HII is probably best known as being a shipbuilder
of nuclear ships and conventional warships.
But we're part of the Mission Technologies,
and we bring a whole portfolio of technologies
to the warfighter.
My business unit, the unmanned systems,
we bring a whole portfolio of unmanned vessels
and underwater vehicles, and unmanned surface vessels.
That's the REMUS line of unmanned underwater vehicles
and the ROMULUS unmanned surface vessels.
In underwater vehicles,
we build everything from small class to large class.
We build over 750 vehicles,
delivered those at 30 countries around the world.
On the ROMULUS USVs,
we build everything from small seven-foot vessels,
up to what you see here is our 151-foot ROMULUS vessel.
This is the vessel that is part of our medium USV portfolio.
So our REMUS UUVs.
Yesterday we celebrated the 25th anniversary of REMUS.
So we've been building vehicles for a long time.
We've built over 750 vehicles
delivered into 30 countries around the world.
Being used for everything from ocean-bottom mapping
to intelligence gathering.
The most common use of the vehicles
is for mine countermeasures.
So we are the U.S. Navy's vehicle of choice
for expeditionary mine countermeasures.
Our largest program right now is the Lionfish program.
We deliver that to the U.S. Navy
for expeditionary mine countermeasures.
That was a DIU program.
In fact, that was the first DIU program ever to transition
from an OTA to a full-rate program of record.
And we're delivering that vehicle at scale right now,
we're delivering.
And in the total backlog right now,
we have over 100 small vehicles
that we're building for Lionfish
and for our international customers.
For the medium UUVs,
you'll see a model of it over here next to us.
That vehicle has been recently used
to do torpedo-tube launch recovery.
Our first-generation REMUS 600 with Yellow Moray technology
developed by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
successfully performed real-world operational missions
with U.S. submarines swimming in and out of torpedo tubes.
Our REMUS 620, the latest generation of that vehicle,
last summer went through tests to prove
that it could do the same on a test platform at Seneca Lake.
ROMULUS vessels are in production today.
We are delivering them to a variety of customers,
from the small size to the large size.
Right now, we are building five medium
unmanned surface vessels, the ROMULUS 151,
at our partnership yard in Louisiana,
Breaux Brothers Enterprises.
So the commonality that links
both of our underwater vehicles
and our unmanned surface vessels together is autonomy.
And our autonomy is Odyssey.
It's an AI-enabled, full-platform,
open-architecture, modular,
designed to be scaled from small vessels to large vessels,
from underwater vessels to surface vessels.
And one of the things that make us unique
is that open-architecture aspect of our autonomy.
We can bring third-party autonomy behaviors
onto our platform to get best of breed
in everything that we do.
- Hello, I'm Rick Williams, and I do business development
for Mission Technologies and unmanned surface vessels.
And I'm here to talk today about our C4I systems:
command, control, communications, computing, cyber,
and how we integrate that
with lots of different types of payloads and networks.
The innovations are adding artificial intelligence
and machine learning to the autonomy systems
and using AI at the tactical edge
and at the operational level
and using sensors like our perception suite
that we have on our future MUSV,
manned, unmanned surface vessel, as well,
as with our long-range unmanned surface vessels
and integrating those unmanned platforms
with manned platforms and the network command and control
with our system called Minotaur,
which is a long-range anti-surface warfare capability
that's used at the operational level.
Taking Odyssey autonomy and AI at the edge for the boat,
and then integrating with Minotaur, is where we're going.
So, for manned-unmanned teaming,
what we want to have is interoperable C4I solutions.
So what you have on the unmanned platform interoperates
or is connected with the manned platforms.
You have one type model series of networks, communications,
command control, and reliable data.
And so these boats will be an extension
of those manned platforms.
They'll operate in the highly contested and contested areas,
allowing the manned platforms to have extended reach
for classification ID, situational awareness, and targeting,
as well as letting the manned platforms
remain clear of hostile weapon engagement zones.
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- My name's Mike Coulter.
I'm the CEO of Hanwha Defense USA.
Hanwha Defense USA is a U.S. defense company
that is focused on bringing forward technology
process capability from our parent company,
Hanwha, in Korea.
Hanwha in Korea is the leading aerospace
and defense company in Korea
and one of the global leading shipbuilders.
So here at Sea-Air-Space in 2026,
we are bringing forward the capacity that we have in Korea
and intend to bring to the United States.
From a capability perspective,
we have a portfolio of companies.
So Hanwha Ocean is our shipyard in Korea.
Hanwha Ocean.
Last year, we acquired Hanwha Philly Shipyard.
We are in the early-stage process
of bringing forward our capabilities
from our shipyard in Korea to our shipyard in Philadelphia
to expand shipbuilding capacity in the United States.
Hanwha Defense USA is also bringing forward at Sea-Air-Space
our capability from Hanwha Aerospace,
which, as a leading aerospace and defense company in Korea,
brings of interest to the Navy,
munitions and missile capability.
So we're showcasing our missile and munitions capability.
Similar to what we're doing in Philly for a shipyard,
we have announced a munitions campus in Arkansas,
where we're bringing munitions capability from Korea
to build here in the United States to meet the needs
of both U.S. Navy but also other customers,
including the U.S. Army.
Hanwha, a leading aerospace and defense company in Korea.
Korea, a nation that has been on war footing for 70 years,
has been investing in ways
that companies in the United States
and elsewhere globally have not been investing in.
So, in addition to the technology of the platforms,
munitions that we're bringing,
it's really the industrial capacity
that we're focused on bringing to the United States.
So we want to be the most efficient shipbuilder
in the United States.
The most efficient munitions builder in the United States.
The most efficient artillery builder in the United States.
To bring industrial strength with American workforce,
pulling technology process automation from Korea
into the United States to support the U.S. Navy
and the U.S. warfighter.
We're a startup in the United States,
but we have the strength of an industrial-leading
global company behind us in Korea.
As such, we have the financial backing,
industrial strength in Korea.
But here in the United States,
we're interested in becoming a constructive disruptor
that the U.S. customer is looking for.
We are acting ways that they have asked U.S. industry
to get back onto a war footing, leveraging our war footing,
industrial strength in Korea, but acting like a disruptor.
So as you look around our booth this week,
you will see investments that we are making
in industrial capacity United States,
technology partnerships we have with other disruptors.
Like this morning, we announced a partnership
with Magnet Defense to bring USV capability
with munitions capability on that USV to the United States.
So we are intent on being a constructive disruptor
supporting the U.S. industrial base and the U.S. warfighter.
Yeah, here in our booth this week,
we have above us an orange Goliath crane.
These Goliath cranes are a hallmark of our shipyard in Korea
and now a hallmark of our shipyard in Philadelphia.
As we work to expand the footprint in Philadelphia,
you'll already find one orange crane.
In coming years, you will find more orange cranes.
As we take Philadelphia from a shipyard
that was producing one ship a year,
today, just with Hanwha process,
we're at three ships a year.
We have a path to get us to 10, 20 ships a year,
more cranes, more people, but then technology automation
to increase the capacity of U.S. shipbuilding
in the United States.
So our shipyard in Philadelphia right now
largely does commercial work, government work.
We just received our first Navy contract,
which is initial design contract for the Navy,
but we're in deep discussions with the Navy,
who's looking to increase throughput of U.S. ships,
everything from auxiliaries to support ships to combatants,
as we grow at that capacity in Philadelphia.
What are the right classes of ships for us to be building?
And we will be building U.S. Navy ships in Philadelphia.
At Hanwha in Korea, our shipyard in Korea
produces one ship a week, 50-some ships a year.
We will be bringing that capacity to Philadelphia
to expand to 10, 20 ships a year in Philadelphia.
Our munitions factory in Korea similarly produces
thousands of missiles, munitions every year.
We are intent on bringing that capability
to the U.S. Navy warfighter in Arkansas and beyond.
And as we look forward to Hanwha's
presence of the United States, we look forward to expanding
beyond Philadelphia, beyond Arkansas,
to rebuild industrial strength
and support the U.S. warfighter.
- [Announcer] When we return,
a look at a new large-payload subsea drone from Anduril.
Don't go away.
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Welcome back.
Undersea drones are an emerging market
in the defense industry.
One company looking to make waves in the space
is Anduril Industries, which brought its long-range,
large-payload drone, the Dive-XL,
to the Sea-Air-Space Conference.
Here's a company representative
with some details on the vessel.
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- I'm Andrew Nuss.
I'm the head of growth and strategy
for Anduril's Maritime Division,
and I'm standing in front of a model of our Dive-XL,
which is our extra-large autonomous undersea vehicle.
This is a capability that we've been developing
for the last few years,
and it started as a partnership opportunity
with the Royal Australian Navy
as part of their Ghost Shark program.
So this vehicle that you see in front of you
is the base product or the base vehicle
that's part of that Ghost Shark program.
That Ghost Shark program
is a three-year collaborative research
and development program with the Australian Navy
to realize the capability of an extra-large
autonomous undersea vehicle and then all of the missions
and capabilities that come along with these vehicles.
So that's integration into
the command and control environments, autonomy,
and really, where this kind of vehicle matters
is the ability to carry large payloads
or large amounts of payload.
So these are long-range vehicles that are payload trucks.
These are systems that are designed
to carry multiple different types of payloads
and help address operational challenges
and missions for the Ghost Shark example
for the Australian Navy, but then also here in the U.S.
with the Defense Innovation Unit and the U.S. Navy.
So this is a base capability
that we've been developing for the last few years.
We have several of these that are built right now
in Australia, and with partnership of the Australian Navy,
we have moved into high-rate production with these systems.
So we were actively producing these
in a factory that we have in Australia right now.
Similarly, we're partnered with the U.S. Navy
and the Defense Innovation Unit on a program called CAMP.
This is the Combat Autonomous Maritime Platform.
This is a program where DIU went out to industry,
specifically looking for commercially available
long-range, payload-capable vehicles.
And that's where the Dive-XL is, as a base platform,
is the capability to help address this need.
So we announced back in March that we're on contract
with the Defense Innovation Unit for this capability.
That will allow Anduril to demonstrate this vehicle
for the U.S. Navy and for DIU in the next few months,
and do it in a manner that's operationally relevant.
So we're gonna integrate with sailors,
some of the operational squadrons,
and demonstrate real mission capability with this platform
to be able to show the maturity of the system.
And then similarly, in partnership with the U.S. Navy,
hopefully move into high-rate production here
by the end of the calendar year.
This, again, is a payload truck.
So we can integrate payloads that Anduril designs
and operates, as well as payloads that are Navy partners
or commercial partners design and operates
as well as many other third-party providers.
So we're really excited about this capability.
This is the first chance
that the U.S. Navy's had in a long time
to really operationalize large numbers of these systems
and go solve some of these kind of dull, boring,
and kind of benign missions
to be able to preserve the capital assets that we have
that are very exquisite and very capable.
Go allow them to do those high-end missions
and allow these systems to kind of help fill out
some of those lower-end missions
and operate as a combined force.
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- [Announcer] Up next, more in naval autonomy.
We stopped by the booth for EvoLogics at SAS 2026
to learn more about their Sonobot 5 USV.
Have a look.
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- What you're looking at here is the Sonobot 5 USV.
This is a fully autonomous unmanned surface vehicle,
carbon-fiber construction, modular design.
Payload options include, right here,
a multibeam echosounder.
We can have a side-scan sonar, single-beam echosounder,
or even one of our transceiver heads
for tracking of underwater targets.
Forward-looking camera, single or dual GNSS,
10-knot top speed, runtime between eight and 10 hours.
The genesis of this was really novel bionics.
Basically, in design, a sleek, easy-to-transport,
high-performance vehicle
that could carry a number of different payload options,
be easy to deploy and operate.
Depending on payload options, you're looking at a weight
of between 50 and 60 pounds, fully collapsible.
This pontoon right here rolls up under the wing
and then the wing under the body itself,
so it's easy to transport and deploy.
And just a couple of clasps.
Hot-swappable batteries right here,
with lithium batteries located in each pontoon.
I can change these out in about 20 seconds,
so you can get a full workday out of it.
If you need be, you can swap those batteries out
to extend runtime.
Range would depend on some of the communication options.
The Silvus StreamCaster radio right here could be operated
with a standoff distance of approximately 25 miles.
Iridium satellite is actually also
a communication option as well.
Some of the key job tasks that you might use this for
would be SAR uses.
Defense applications would include ISR as well as MCM.
These are used for locating mine-like objects
has an onboard AI target recognition module.
So it will actually go out
and make auto-recognition of targets
that it discovers on side-scan sonar.
Send that back real time to operator stations
for decision-making.
Designed to operate in up to Sea State 3.
So generally speaking, coastal areas and inland waterways,
I would say, is really where
I think the sweet spot for a vehicle like this is.
So some of the customers that are currently using this
are tactical law enforcement uses,
naval offices for survey, and those that are actually in EOD
searching for mine-like objects and so forth.
This is actually designed to operate individually,
depending on need, or it can operate in fleet swarm
capabilities as well.
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- [Announcer] When we come back,
Jeanette Mack from Navy Federal Credit Union
returns with tips for long-term investing.
Stay tuned.
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Welcome back.
On this edition of "Money Minute,"
Jeanette Mack from Navy Federal Credit Union
is back to help you choose between investing in an IRA
or the stock market.
Have a look.
- When planning for retirement,
you often have a decision to make.
Keep your money safer in an IRA
or invest in the stock market for growth.
Your decision comes down to what you want,
how much risk you're comfortable with, and your timeline.
Keeping money in an IRA is a low-risk option,
but growth may be limited compared to investing in stocks.
Consistent contributions to your IRA gives compound interest
the fuel to work over time.
Meanwhile, investing in stocks may offer higher returns,
but there's more risk involved
because of market fluctuations.
That's where balance comes in.
Using IRA savings for stability
and investing for amplified long-term savings
is a great formula.
Whichever way you go, the earlier you start, the better.
And as always, when it comes to investment planning
and retirement, you should always work with
a trusted financial advisor
before making any final decisions.
- [Announcer] To get more coverage of military
and defense topics, set your unmanned surface vessel
to go spy on MilitaryTimes.com and DefenseNews.com
for more headlines.
And to be the most up-to-date sailor on the ship,
sign up for our Early Bird Brief
compiled each morning to bring you the most recent news.
Finally, if social media
is where you collect open-source intelligence,
follow us on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and X,
and for you Gen Z troops, we're on TikTok,
so go follow us there as well.
When we return, health care and benefits updates
from the Military Officers Association of America.
Don't go away.
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Welcome back to "Defense News Weekly."
Are you up to date on the latest in health care
and benefits news for troops and veterans?
Our partners, the Military Officers Association of America,
are here to help.
Check it out.
- Now benefits and personnel news,
presented by the Military Officers Association of America.
May is Military Appreciation Month,
and you know what that means.
Businesses across the nation
are starting to share special deals
for their service-connected customers.
Already announced their discounts
to Busch Gardens and SeaWorld,
a full list of zoos and museums around the country.
Or maybe you wanna take the family on a ski trip to Vail.
Mission BBQ is giving away free sandwiches
on select service days.
Even the newest service, Space Force, has their own day.
We'll be updating the full list as new deals are announced.
See them all at MOAA.org/MayDeals.
A Pentagon memo orders top officials to make maximum use
of military spouse employment flexibilities.
This move could open more opportunities
to a chronically underemployed workforce
and help strengthen the financial well-being
of military families.
The April message cites the staggering 20% unemployment rate
for military spouses.
The Department of War's being ordered to approve
alternative worksites for spouses whose service member
may be on assignment outside their commuting area.
This could open the door to more remote work opportunities.
The Pentagon's goal is to reduce spouse unemployment
by 5% this year through its own employment practices.
Four of the military's top senior enlisted leaders
are gathering May 8th, and you're invited.
The Senior Enlisted Leaders Forum is a 90-minute webinar
with David Isom,
Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs,
Sergeant Major of the Army Michael Weimer,
MCPON John Perryman,
and Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force David Wolfe.
The leaders will address challenges and opportunities
for today's service member and their families.
This event is open to the full military-connected community,
including currently serving members,
senior leaders and command teams, veterans and retirees,
and military families.
To register for the free event,
visit MOAA.org/SeniorEnlisted.
The Army has announced details of a new seven-event
Combat Field Test designed to ensure soldiers can dominate
the modern battlefield.
Rolling out now, the test is required of active duty
and reservists in two dozen combat specialties.
Test-takers will have 30 minutes to complete the test
that begins and ends with a one-mile run.
In between, a soldier will perform a variety of carries,
lifts, sprints, and a high crawl.
The pass/fail test is a single standard regardless of age,
height, weight, or gender.
Test-takers will wear the ACU, combat boots, and T-shirt.
Active duty troops have 90 days to retake a failed test
or will be subject to reclassification.
For more benefits and personnel news, visit MOAA.org.
- [Announcer] Well, that's all the time we have
in this episode.
Thanks for joining us, and we'll see you next week.
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