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Underwater · Autonomous underwater vehicle

Hanwha surveillance AUV / ASWUUV programmes

Distinct Korean mine-survey and larger underwater-surveillance development programmes.

Role & capabilities

  • Mine-survey observation
  • Underwater surveillance research
Development / trialsDevelopment / trials
Primary domain
Underwater
System type
Autonomous underwater vehicle
Developer / manufacturer
Hanwha Systems
Origin / production countries
South Korea
Other names
No additional names recorded
Variants / configurations
Underwater-surveillance AUV; ASWUUV research programme
Operators / programme customers
Not identified in reviewed sources

Evidence & current status

Official product categories are used because a stable model designation is not established. Supplier reports successful Navy evaluation but also describes future fielding.

Hanwha's public naval portfolio separates a mine-survey AUV from its larger ASWUUV research programme. The former follows planned underwater routes and carries imaging equipment for examining objects near the coast and seabed. The latter is described as an open-architecture vehicle intended for longer-duration underwater observation. They are recorded together as a programme overview, without assigning one hull's specifications or maturity to the other.

For the survey AUV, Hanwha states that official Republic of Korea Navy evaluation included navigation at sea. The same product description says field deployment would follow completion of full development. That language supports successful testing, not an established delivered fleet. The public page does not disclose a stable model number or a reliable numeric data sheet for the identified vehicle.

Hanwha also describes docking technology as a separate military-civil research effort. A docking demonstrator is not evidence that every survey AUV already has that function. This entry therefore uses the supplier's own programme names and keeps dimensions, endurance and operator quantities unknown until programme-specific documentation connects them to a particular configuration.

Sourced specifications

Figures apply to the named configuration. Maximum values are not guaranteed operating performance.

SpecificationReported valueContext & source
ConfigurationSeparate survey AUV and larger ASWUUV development programmesPublished baseline; configuration and mission conditions affect performance. Source ↗
Hull / propulsionNot established in the reviewed public sources.Public evidence gap. No estimate or neighbouring variant value has been substituted. Source ↗
DimensionsNot established in the reviewed public sources.Public evidence gap. No estimate or neighbouring variant value has been substituted. Source ↗
Displacement / massNot established in the reviewed public sources.Public evidence gap. No estimate or neighbouring variant value has been substituted. Source ↗
PayloadNot established in the reviewed public sources.Public evidence gap. No estimate or neighbouring variant value has been substituted. Source ↗
EnduranceNot established in the reviewed public sources.Public evidence gap. No estimate or neighbouring variant value has been substituted. Source ↗
RangeNot established in the reviewed public sources.Public evidence gap. No estimate or neighbouring variant value has been substituted. Source ↗
SpeedNot established in the reviewed public sources.Public evidence gap. No estimate or neighbouring variant value has been substituted. Source ↗
Operating depthNot established in the reviewed public sources.Public evidence gap. No estimate or neighbouring variant value has been substituted. Source ↗
SensorsSurvey AUV: optical camera, side-scan sonar and ultrasonic imagingSupplier-listed survey configuration; not transferred to ASWUUV. Source ↗
Communications / controlNot established in the reviewed public sources.Public evidence gap. No estimate or neighbouring variant value has been substituted. Source ↗
Launch / deploymentNot established in the reviewed public sources.Public evidence gap. No estimate or neighbouring variant value has been substituted. Source ↗

Publication history

  • — Added in the September 2026 global coverage review, with sources, configuration limits and explicit data gaps.

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Follow the evidence

Source types identify who makes the claim. Programme milestones and supplier statements should be read in context.

  1. Hanwha underwater-surveillance AUV (opens in a new tab)Manufacturer
  2. Hanwha naval autonomous programmes (opens in a new tab)Manufacturer

Explore the connections

Manufacturer indexSouth Korea

Hanwha Systems

Systems and source material associated with Hanwha Systems.

Reviewed 21 Sept 2026Read