HII Wins U.S. Navy Contract for 10 ROMULUS USVs, Accelerating Deployment of Proven Autonomous Capability
The completed evaluation included a 420-nautical-mile autonomous mission over 28 hours that met all established success criteria.
Sentiment and the balance of points
Rhea-AI Sentiment reads the wording of the document, how positive or negative its language is on a 1 to 5 scale. The balance of points shown with the takes weighs what the document actually discloses, so the two can disagree, for example when a trial that missed its main goal is described in upbeat language.
Rhea-AI Summary
HII (NYSE: HII) won a U.S. Navy contract to build 10 ROMULUS unmanned surface vessels for the Medium Unmanned Surface Vessel program.
HII and partners Applied Intuition, Greenroom Robotics and Rodi Marine completed the program’s evaluation phase, including Navy-monitored testing of HII’s Odyssey autonomous control system. HII began production preparations in 2025 and is using a distributed production model with regional shipbuilders and manufacturing partners.
The company also recently announced a 10,000-square-foot expansion to increase capacity at its existing 40,000-square-foot unmanned manufacturing campus, supporting both REMUS underwater vehicles and ROMULUS surface vessels.
How this balance works
Rhea-AI gives every point it takes from this document a weight. Minor counts 1, Moderate 3 and Major 9, so one Major point outweighs several Minor ones. The bar adds up the weights on each side, and when neither side holds more than 65% of the total the balance reads Mixed.
It reads the document as published, with the same rules for every company, and it does not look at what the market expected or at how the stock traded, so a point can be objectively good on a day the stock falls.
Rhea-AI Sentiment measures something else, the tone of the wording.
Hollow bars mark forward-looking points. How the balance works
Positive
- Moderate pointU.S. Navy contract awarded to HII to build 10 ROMULUS unmanned surface vessels for the MUSV program.
- Minor pointMUSV evaluation phase completed; autonomy system finished a 420-nautical-mile mission over 28 hours, meeting all established success criteria.
- Minor pointDistributed production model uses regional shipbuilders and manufacturing partners to expand available production capacity.
- Minor point. Forward-looking: it has not happened yet and may not happen.10,000-square-foot expansion announced to increase manufacturing capacity for REMUS underwater vehicles and ROMULUS surface vessels.
Negative
- None.
Key Figures
- ROMULUS vessels awarded
- 10 unmanned surface vessels
- U.S. Navy MUSV program contract
- Mission distance
- 420 nautical miles
- Completed long-endurance mission simulation
- Mission duration
- 28 hours
- Completed long-endurance mission simulation
Historical Context
-
Expanded unmanned production capacity included ROMULUS USVs, directly supporting manufacturing scale for this contract.
24h Move is the share-price change in the day after each event; other market factors may also have contributed.
Key Terms
uuvs technical
command-and-control (c2) technical
AI-generated analysis. How Rhea-AI works. Not financial advice.
MCLEAN, Va., Sept. 29, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- HII (NYSE: HII), America’s largest military shipbuilder and the global leader in autonomous seapower, was awarded a contract by the U.S. Navy to build 10 ROMULUS unmanned surface vessels (USVs) for the Medium Unmanned Surface Vessel (MUSV) program. The award marks a major advancement in the U.S. Navy’s transition from experimentation to fleet-scale deployment of trusted, operational autonomy across the maritime domain.
“HII has made deliberate, early investments in the development of autonomous systems, advancing capabilities essential to the Navy’s hedge strategy,” said Chris Kastner, HII president and CEO. “We remain firmly committed to supporting the U.S. Navy’s vision and accelerating this critical capability from production to operational deployment.”
The U.S. Navy’s selection underscores HII’s shipbuilding expertise and leadership in proven autonomous unmanned surface and underwater maritime systems to deliver reliable production at the speed and scale required for emerging unmanned fleet production and operations.
Photos accompanying this release are available at: https://www.hii.com/news/hii-wins-us-navy-contract-for-10-romulus-usvs-accelerating-deployment-of-proven-autonomous-capability.
At the core of ROMULUS is HII’s Odyssey Autonomous Control Solutions (ACS), a combat-tested autonomy suite that enables trusted, coordinated operations across surface and undersea domains. HII has delivered more than 750 REMUS unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs) to customers in more than 30 countries. Together, ROMULUS, REMUS and Odyssey ACS provide a scalable foundation for autonomous maritime operations supporting the U.S. Navy and allied fleets.
In 2025, HII committed to securing the partners, production capacity, supplier network and infrastructure needed to move quickly from design and development to construction of ROMULUS USVs. That investment reflected HII’s continued support of the U.S. Navy’s unmanned maritime priorities and advancing the unmanned surface program with mature technology and a production-ready approach. By beginning work in 2025, HII positioned the ROMULUS program for accelerated delivery, reduced production risk and to provide the U.S. Navy with a scalable path to fielding autonomous unmanned surface capabilities at the pace the nation demands.
“Unmanned vessels ultimately must be built, integrated, tested and sustained as part of a fleet,” said Andy Green, president of HII’s Mission Technologies division. “As the nation’s largest shipbuilder, HII understands that challenge from both sides. By pairing our advanced cutting-edge technologies with our shipbuilding expertise, and leveraging experienced regional partners and suppliers, we are creating a production ecosystem capable of delivering reliable autonomous platforms at the pace and scale the U.S. Navy requires.”
Odyssey ACS: The Autonomy Behind ROMULUS
A key differentiator of ROMULUS is HII’s Odyssey ACS, a modular, open-architecture autonomy suite developed from decades of experience designing, building, operating and sustaining unmanned maritime systems.
Odyssey is designed to deliver consistent, predictable autonomous behavior, a requirement for the U.S. Navy’s transition from experimentation to operational deployment. It provides decision-making architecture that enables unmanned systems to perceive their surroundings, navigate, manage onboard systems and payloads, coordinate with other manned and unmanned platforms, and execute complex missions with limited human intervention.
Odyssey’s modular, open-architecture lets the U.S. Navy and allied partners rapidly integrate emerging sensors, command-and-control (C2) technologies and AI algorithms, ensuring ROMULUS remains upgrade-ready for evolving threat environments.
HII, with its partners Applied Intuition, Greenroom Robotics and Rodi Marine, successfully completed the evaluation phase of the MUSV program. HII’s Odyssey ACS vessel capabilities were validated through a series of operationally representative test events, demonstrating performance, reliability and mission readiness. The U.S. Navy-monitored testing took place in the Gulf of America over a 13-day period and evaluated the system under demanding, real-world operating conditions.
The most rigorous event was a long-endurance mission simulation. HII’s autonomy system successfully completed the full 420-nautical-mile mission over 28 hours, meeting all established success criteria and demonstrating the endurance and autonomous performance required for sustained maritime operations.
Designed and Built by Shipbuilders for Scale
For ROMULUS, HII is combining that expertise with a distributed production model that leverages regional shipbuilders and manufacturing partners. This approach expands available production capacity, strengthens the U.S. maritime industrial base and enables vessels to be produced efficiently and repeatedly as U.S. Navy demand grows.
HII is working with Gulf Coast build partners including Breaux Brothers Enterprises, Halimar Shipyard and Bayou Metal Supply & Manufacturing in Louisiana to support ROMULUS production, and developed in partnership with Beier Integrated Systems and Incat Crowther.
HII also recently announced a new10,000-square-foot expansion to increase the capacity of HII’s existing 40,000-square-foot unmanned manufacturing production campus capacity to build, develop and integrate advanced unmanned and autonomous maritime systems for both the REMUS family of UUVs and ROMULUS USVs.
The model allows major components and assemblies to be produced efficiently before final vessel integration, increasing throughput and creating a repeatable production architecture that can scale across the ROMULUS USV family.
About HII
HII is America’s largest shipbuilder, delivering the world’s most powerful ships and all-domain mission technologies, including unmanned systems, to U.S. and allied defense customers. HII is the largest producer of unmanned underwater vehicles for the U.S. Navy and the world.
With a more than 140-year history of advancing U.S. national security, HII builds and integrates defense capabilities extending from the core fleet to C6ISR, AI/ML, EW and synthetic training. Headquartered in Virginia, HII’s workforce is 45,000 strong. For more information, visit:
- HII on the web: https://www.HII.com/
- HII on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TeamHII
- HII on X: https://www.twitter.com/WeAreHII
- HII on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/WeAreHII
- HII on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/wearehii
Contact:
Greg McCarthy
(202) 264-7126
gregory.j.mccarthy@hii-co.com
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/d8ad2654-8701-4404-beb0-d34b186ce8a4
FAQ
AI-generated questions and answers. How Rhea-AI works. Not financial advice.
What testing did HII complete for the MUSV evaluation?
HII completed Navy-monitored testing over 13 days, including a long-endurance mission simulation. Its autonomy system completed the full 420-nautical-mile mission over 28 hours, meeting all established success criteria. HII worked with Applied Intuition, Greenroom Robotics and Rodi Marine during the evaluation phase.