HII executives recently toured Breaux Brothers Enterprises in Loreauville, Louisiana, announcing that construction of the ROMULUS unmanned surface vessel (USV) prototype has reached 30% completion. The vessel remains on schedule for sea trials in the fourth quarter of 2026.
During the visit, HII leaders reviewed hull construction progress, integration of HII’s Odyssey Autonomous Control System (ACS), and outfitting work alongside build partners Breaux Brothers and Incat Crowther.
“ROMULUS is progressing at a pace that reflects the urgency of the mission and the strength of our partnerships,” said Andy Green, president of HII’s Mission Technologies division. “At 30% complete, the ROMULUS prototype is well on its way to becoming the benchmark for unmanned surface capability.”
ROMULUS USVs are designed to meet U.S. Navy, Marine Corps, joint force, and allied requirements, delivering high-endurance, sustained open-ocean autonomy with a focus on lethality, cost efficiency, and scalability. The family of USVs will support ISR, counter-UAS, mine countermeasures, strike missions, and launch/recovery of UUVs and UAVs. Paired with HII’s REMUS UUVs, ROMULUS extends undersea reach for distributed maritime operations.
This prototype is the first in HII’s modular, AI-enabled ROMULUS line, engineered for rapid production and high endurance at sea. With speeds over 25 knots and a range of 2,500 nautical miles, ROMULUS offers mission flexibility across global theaters.
ROMULUS is built around the Odyssey ACS autonomy suite, proven across 35+ USV platforms and over 750 REMUS UUVs in 30 countries. Odyssey enables open-ocean autonomy, swarming, modular payload integration, and manned-unmanned teaming. ROMULUS also integrates capabilities from Shield AI, Applied Intuition, and C3 AI. In November, HII and Shield AI successfully completed the first major autonomy test aboard a ROMULUS 20 USV, advancing the AI-enabled ROMULUS fleet toward operational deployment.
