An Interview with Antal&Orosz’s Defense Projects Director
By Paul Bergfalk
Antal&Orosz is a relatively small player in the global defense shipbuilding industry, but recently the company’s Nyugodt Bay-based naval yard has received contracts for some major projects. While a longtime name in the yacht and civilian shipbuilding business, some of A&O’s latest customers come from a distinctly different group: Aurorian navies.
While the company engaged in significant projects for the Hexastalian Navy, such as tugboats and submarines, it has recently signed several contracts with the Hexastalian and Scalvian navies for the construction of major naval vessels, namely the Hexastalian Navy’s HNS Sándor Szarka replenishment oiler and components for the Allied Aurorian Nations’ STANAVFORWESK’s Weskermere-class command cruiser.
Mr. Artúr Kis, the Director of A&O’s Defense Projects division, sat down and answered some of Seapower News’ questions about the shipyard’s capabilities and ongoing projects.
SN: Can you tell us about Antal&Orosz’s role in the Hexastalian shipbuilding industry?
Artúr Kis: Antal&Orosz - and our predecessors in Antal Shipyards and Orosz Marine Engineering -have played a very important role in the development and evolution of Hexastalia’s current marine industry sector. We have been the undisputed leader of the civilian shipbuilding sector, with our vast experience building yachts, freighters, ferries, tankers, and container ships. Throughout the 66-year history of this company, we’ve also constructed a great number of military vessels for the Hexastalian Navy and foreign operators. We are still the only facility capable of building submarines in the country. The most recent example of a ship we built in the Hexastalian Navy is, I believe, the Támádo-class submarine HNS Pusztító.
SN: Can we learn about the shipyard’s capabilities? Are you only working on new projects or do you also provide maintenance to Hexastalian Navy vessels?
Artúr Kis: Well, obviously, most of our focus is on civilian shipbuilding. Of the ships we’ve been contracted to build, at the moment, only a quarter is for the military. But, we do also have ship servicing facilities in [the city of] Kikötö. In 2024, our maintenance and repair facilities serviced 120 ships from the Hexastalian Navy, other navies in the region, and civilian owners. We also design all of our own ships. While we do work with international partners on some of our projects, our current product line is one-hundred-percent designed in-house. Additionally, we’ve made some innovations in a few relevant fields over the past few years that are being deployed to optimize safety and performance among our customers.
SN: Can you tell us about the ongoing shipbuilding projects and their importance for the Hexastalian Navy?
Artúr Kis: The two most important ongoing projects are the construction of HNS Sándor Szarka and the fabrication of components to be used in the Weskermere class of command cruisers. Also notable is the construction of a landing ship for the Hexastalian Navy, which will be the first such vessel operated by Hexastalia in many decades. We submitted a design for the Valor-class frigates but it was not chosen; oh well, such is life. These projects are vital to the Hexastalian Navy’s future plans and the country’s security.
SN: Can you give us information about the Weskermere class cruiser? What is the level of cooperation with Scalvia? What are A&O’s responsibilities?
Artúr Kis: The Weskermere class is the first cruiser built in Hexastalia in almost 80 years, and, as you mentioned, it is being co-developed with and partially built in Scalvia. This is a partnership involving several partners in both countries. Our responsibilities here at Nyugodt Bay are the prefabrication of superstructure modules, to be assembled at Kovács by Zsoldos Hajógyártás, which is also producing the hull for the ship. Our partners in Scalvia are largely responsible for the weapons, machinery, and electronics for the vessel. It is certainly an honor to be part of this project and I personally am very eager to see the ship be completed - which is planned for late 2027 or early 2028.
SN: Can we learn about the future projects for your division?
Artúr Kis: Regarding future projects, I can’t reveal too much at this time. We are in talks with some of our Scalvian partners to offer the Swordsman and Archer class submarines developed there to the Hexastalian Navy. The Navy has also been interested in our Multipurpose Patrol Vessel design, which we hope will lead to a contract as part of the [Next Generation Offshore Patrol Vessel] program. We have been developing unmanned surface vessels with the cooperation of industry partners and the Hexastalian Navy as well. We hope to be able to reveal more soon.
SN: Thank you.
Artúr Kis: It’s absolutely no problem!