HII delivers autonomous vessel prototypes to U.S. Marine Corps

HII (NYSE: HII) and MetalCraft Marine delivered two autonomous unmanned surface vessel prototypes to the U.S. Marine Corps under a Defense Innovation Unit contract, the company announced.

The two ROMULUS-25 vessels were delivered in December 2025 and completed sea testing that demonstrated autonomous mission capabilities. The contract was awarded by the Defense Innovation Unit for smaller form factor autonomous boat prototypes.

The ROMULUS-25 is a 27-foot vessel designed to carry up to 1,000 pounds of payload with a range of up to 1,000 nautical miles. The vessel operates using HII's Odyssey AI-based autonomy system, which integrates sensors and effectors for maritime operations.

"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.

According to the company, the Odyssey autonomy system has completed more than 2,200 hours of autonomous operations during government tests over five years. The system has been deployed on more than 30 platforms with over 12,000 hours of at-sea operations.

The ROMULUS-25 is part of HII's unmanned surface vessel family, which ranges from 7-foot micro-USVs to the ROMULUS-190, a 190-foot aluminum vessel capable of carrying multiple containerized payloads.

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