At AUSA 2026, Hanwha Defense USA featured a model of the M38 MUSV made in partnership with Magnet Defense, with the parent design vessel recently arriving at National Harbor just outside of Washington D.C. following previous rounds of testing at sea.
Hanwha’s Kevin Schoonover provided insight into the ongoing program, including several of Hanwha’s munitions offering destined to outfit the vessel and other platforms, alongside greater detail pertaining to the partnership with Magnet Defense. Schoonover also highlighted how the M38 is the primary testing vehicle for the class standing at 38 meters long, with future production upgrading to the larger 48 meter standard found on the M48. To this end steel has been cut for the first M48, with production coinciding with continued testing of the original M38.
Naval News previously reported on the partnership between Hanwha and Magnet Defense, primarily geared towards breaching the emerging U.S. USV market. Schoonover also detailed how Hanwha handles most of the construction on the vessel along with work regarding autonomous weapons integration, whilst Magnet Defense handles most of the autonomy in regards to navigation and the vessel’s actual operation.
Like similar sized USVs, the M38 also features the capability to carry containerized payloads related to multiple missions, including strike, reconnaissance, and electronic warfare. M38 has already demonstrated its range of 17,000 nautical miles on multiple tests, including a trip across the Pacific to American Samoa in up to conditions of Sea State 9 . This has been part of a bid to introduce the M38 to overseas markets, including those beyond the U.S.’s MUSV program and Korean operation.
M38’s Weapons
Joining the M38 at Hanwha’s booth, the company showcased offerings for both containerized Multiple Launch Rocket Systems (MLRS) and containerized Vertical Launch Systems (VLS). There are a total of 4 different containerized systems on display, with two systems fitting inside of a 20 foot long shipping containers and the others using 40 foot standard shipping containers. When paired with M38, the vessel can carry up to 4 of the 20 foot long containerized munition packages, 2 of the 40 foot long options, or a combination of a pair of 20 foot containers and a singular 40 foot container
A containerized version of the Chunmoo family of MLRS systems constitutes one of the 20 foot options, utilizing the same munitions and launch mechanisms found on the truck based version. This enables carriage of 2 MLRS pods, with each pod containing up to 6 CGR-080 guided rockets, 4 CTM-MR ballistic missiles (with a range of 160km), 4 CTM-160 Anti-Ship Ballistic Missiles, 1 CTM-290 Ballistic Missile (with a range of 290km), or 1 CTM-X Ballistic Missile featuring a range of 500 kilometers.
The other containers represent Hanwha’s iterations on containerized VLS systems, with the other 20 foot container featuring a shortened K-VLS compact system, with 4 cells primarily meant for smaller surface to air missile systems such as K-SAAM. The two 40 foot options carry 4 cells of K-VLS I or 2 cells of K-VLS II respectively. The container with K-VLS I can employ Red Shark rocket launched torpedoes (K-ASROC), SSM-700K type surface to surface cruise missiles, and K-SAAM. The container with K-VLS II can utilize the larger L-SAM (intended to replace the SM-2 in Korean service), and other larger ballistic and cruise missiles.
