US defence contractor Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) and South Korea’s HD Hyundai Heavy Industries began deploying intelligent mechanised welding systems at HII’s Ingalls Shipbuilding yard in Pascagoula, Mississippi, on 4 August, according to HII.
The pilot will place the equipment in unit-fabrication areas where welding is still carried out mainly by hand. The systems are intended to improve efficiency, safety and quality while meeting existing US Navy fabrication standards.
The technology identifies workpieces and welding conditions, adjusts welding positions in real time and records production data for quality control, process improvement and traceability. Operators can define a work area and supervise several machines simultaneously, intervening only when required.
The systems are already in use at HD Hyundai Heavy Industries and the HD Hyundai Samho shipyard in South Korea.
The programme follows a three-day technical exchange at Ingalls, where engineers assessed automation opportunities and compared production methods. The US yard demonstrated hybrid laser welding, robotics integration and its shipyard layout.
It also advances a memorandum of understanding signed at the Sea-Air-Space exhibition in Washington in April 2025. The agreement covers production automation, robotics and artificial intelligence, digital shipyard development, workforce strategy, supply-chain participation and measures to reduce construction costs and delivery times.
HII employs about 45,000 people and has more than 140 years of shipbuilding and defence-industry history.
HD Hyundai Heavy Industries was founded in 1972 and is based in Ulsan. Its operations cover commercial and naval shipbuilding, offshore and energy projects, and marine engines and machinery. The company posted consolidated sales of KRW 22.67tn ($15.8bn) in 2025 and employed more than 19,000 people.