MCLEAN, Va. - HII in McLean, Va., in partnership with MetalCraft Marine, has completed delivery and at-sea testing of two uncrewed surface vessel prototypes developed under a Defense Innovation Unit contract for the U.S. Marine Corps. Contract terms, including award value and structure, were not disclosed.
The ROMULUS-25 uncrewed surface vessels were delivered in December 2025 and later used in sea trials evaluating autonomous mission behaviors in operational maritime environments.
Each 27-foot high-speed interceptor-class vessel is designed to carry up to 1,000 pounds of payload and operate at ranges of up to 1,000 nautical miles. The platforms are fully capable of autonomous operation and are powered by HII’s Odyssey autonomy suite, which integrates onboard sensing, navigation, and decision-making functions to support coordinated maritime missions.
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HII said the Odyssey autonomy system has accumulated more than 2,200 hours of government-tested autonomous operations over the past five years and has been deployed across more than 30 platforms, totaling more than 12,000 hours of at-sea use.
"Successfully delivering on this prototype contract with the Defense Innovation Unit and the U.S. Marine Corps is a strong recognition of HII’s deep experience and the maturity of our proven autonomous technologies," said Andy Green, executive vice president of HII and president of HII’s Mission Technologies division. "The ROMULUS-25, powered by our Odyssey autonomy suite, builds on thousands of hours of successful at-sea operations and demonstrates how scalable, AI-enabled unmanned systems can extend the reach, endurance, and effectiveness of naval forces."
Open systems
The system is built on a modular open systems architecture with a service-based software design intended to support rapid integration with other mission systems. It also connects to HII’s Minotaur targeting network, enabling automated contact recognition and identification to expand maritime domain awareness.
The ROMULUS-25 is part of a broader family of uncrewed surface vessels ranging from 7-foot micro-USVs to the ROMULUS-190, a 190-foot aluminum vessel designed for containerized payloads and extended missions.
HII and MetalCraft Marine said the Defense Innovation Unit effort reflects continued work on hybrid crewed-uncrewed fleet concepts aimed at increasing range, persistence, and flexibility in naval operations.
