[Green Economy News = Reporter Park Sung-jin]
Anduril Industries, a U.S. defense‑technology firm, has markedly expanded cooperation with South Korean defense companies as it pushes into the domestic market and strengthens its global defense posture.
Brian Schimpf, Anduril’s co‑founder and CEO, announced a “Software First” strategy centered on the AI‑based software platform ‘Lattice’ at a press briefing in Jongno, Seoul, on May 7.
Lattice fuses and analyzes data from thousands of sensors to shorten the timeline from situational awareness through decision and action to a matter of seconds. Schimpf said the platform aims to automate routine information processing so commanders can escape the flood of data and focus on the most critical decisions.
Anduril departs from the traditional subcontractor model by investing in and building its own products, then supplying them as finished, off‑the‑shelf systems. The company is growing rapidly, delivering drones such as Ghost‑X and Bolt‑M and autonomous aerial vehicles (AAVs) like Barracuda and Fury to U.S. forces and allied militaries.
At the briefing, Anduril disclosed concrete results from partnerships with major Korean companies. The firm recently expanded a teaming agreement with Korean Air in the unmanned aircraft sector and completed performance verification of its mission‑autonomy software. The partners plan to extend cooperation beyond Asia‑Pacific unmanned aircraft programs into civilian projects, including joint development of global wildfire‑prevention solutions.
Anduril is also accelerating the buildout of integrated command‑and‑control for land and maritime domains. On the morning of May 7, the company signed a memorandum of understanding with Hyundai Rotem to develop an AI‑based manned‑unmanned teaming (MUM‑T) system. They will embed Lattice into Hyundai Rotem’s ground weapon systems to enable real‑time situational awareness and autonomous mission execution.
Through a partnership that began in 2025 with HD Hyundai, Anduril is constructing a prototype autonomous unmanned surface vessel. The companies expect to launch the hull as early as October and send it to the United States for sea trials. They have recently expanded their joint development work to include unmanned underwater vehicles as well.
John Kim, CEO of Anduril Korea, said, “Combining Korea’s strong hardware capabilities with Anduril’s distinctive software will help build more precise and efficient networked defense capabilities. Based on the concrete progress we’ve made over the past year, we will further strengthen cooperation with our Korean partners.”
Founded in 2017 by VR pioneer Palmer Luckey, Anduril is now valued at about 40 trillion KRW (approximately 30.5 billion USD) and is regarded as a global unicorn in the defense sector.
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