HII has advanced construction of the ROMULUS prototype, part of its new unmanned surface vessel program, with the platform now roughly one-third complete and on track for sea trials in late 2026. The development effort reflects the growing emphasis on autonomous maritime systems within the US military.
The ROMULUS USVs are designed for long-endurance operations in open-ocean environments, supporting missions for the US Navy, Marine Corps, allied forces, and joint commands. Planned mission sets include intelligence gathering, surveillance and reconnaissance, counter-drone operations, mine warfare, strike roles, and support for other unmanned systems.
Each vessel is approximately 190 feet long and can operate at speeds above 25 knots while achieving a range of up to 2,500 nautical miles. The design supports both unmanned and crewed operations, allowing for manned-unmanned teaming in logistics, refueling, and resupply missions, as well as the deployment and recovery of aerial and underwater drones.
Autonomy is enabled by HII’s Odyssey control suite, which uses artificial intelligence to manage single vessels or coordinated groups. The open-architecture approach allows the integration of third-party autonomy technologies, including Shield AI’s Hivemind software, which was successfully tested alongside Odyssey during a dual-autonomy demonstration conducted in November.
