Shipbuilding Giant Enters USV Market with Focus on Commercial Standards and Mass Production
American shipbuilding giant HII has announced the development of a new family of autonomous, unmanned surface vessels (USV) called Romulus. The announcement was made during DSEI in London.
Flagship Vessel Details
The flagship vessel will be 190 feet in length and is being developed in collaboration with Beier Integrated Systems, a Louisiana-based marine engineering firm, as well as commercial shipbuilding firms Breaux Brothers and Incat Crowther, both also located in Louisiana.
The vessel will have a minimum range of 2,500 nautical miles, carrying „4 x 40 foot ISO intermodal containers,” and will be „engineered for rapid, repeatable production,” according to the company’s statement.
Offshore Crew Support Boat Design
Romulus is based on an offshore crew support boat and modified to operate autonomously, Duane Fotheringham, president of unmanned systems at HII Mission Technologies, told Breaking Defense.
Production Timeline
Fotheringham stated that the first USV is expected to be completed in approximately 12 months. Once production is „up and running,” the company anticipates building up to six vessels concurrently and delivering four or five per year.
Company-Wide Effort
Eric Chewning, a senior executive at HII overseeing maritime systems, noted that while Fotheringham’s business unit is leading the effort, other parts of HII will be involved, including Mississippi-based Ingalls Shipbuilding, which will assist with program management elements.
Modular Attack Surface Craft Program
HII’s announcement follows the US Navy’s industry day and subsequent solicitation for its Modular Attack Surface Craft program. This program has attracted a considerable amount of interest from contractors.
Romulus and Navy Requirements
While Chewning and Fotheringham did not explicitly state whether HII was pursuing that program, Romulus’s characteristics – built to commercial standards, capable of carrying containerized payloads, and designed for mass production – align with the Navy’s requirements for its new USV program.
Odyssey Autonomy Command and Control Software
The Odyssey autonomy command and control software, developed by HII and to be deployed on Romulus, has been „on more than 35 USV platforms with 6,000 operational hours in the U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Coast Guard and international allied programs,” according to the company.
The company said, “The software suite’s open-access, government-aligned architecture enables rapid integration of new sensors, payloads, and third-party autonomy technologies. It allows industry, government, and academia to test and refine capabilities, ensuring [Romulus] evolves in step with emerging naval concepts of operations.”
