Hanwha Ocean is leading a government research project on defense and security technology for building warships, according to the company on Wednesday.

The 50-year-old shipbuilding company, acquired this year by Hanhwa Group, said in a press release it signed the contract with the government’s Korea Research Institute for Defense Technology Planning and Advancement.

The project, which is to be completed by May 2028 under the contract, aims to design new demagnetizing equipment for allowing a submarine to evade detection.

The company said the technology being researched under the project would enhance stealth capabilities of its submarines.

In October, the company was selected as the preferred bidder for a startup project by the Agency for Defense Development on energy systems for unmanned submersibles.

Hanwha Ocean is the only company to have built all types of submarines here, with its first order dating back to 1987 from South Korea’s Navy.