HII introduced ROMULUS, a modular family of AI-enabled unmanned surface vessels (USVs) powered by the Odyssey Autonomous Control System (ACS) software suite.
The flagship of the family, ROMULUS 190, is under construction on a commercial-standard hull. The 190-foot vessel is designed for speeds above 25 knots, a minimum range of 2,500 nautical miles, and payload capacity for four 40-foot ISO intermodal containers.
Development of ROMULUS 190 involves Breaux Brothers, Beier Integrated Systems, and Incat Crowther.
HII stated that ROMULUS is intended to meet current and emerging requirements of the U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps, joint forces, and allied forces. The vessel is engineered for high-endurance, sustained open-ocean autonomy with emphasis on lethality, cost efficiency, and scalability.
“The future fight demands speed, agility, and resilience, all embedded in the Odyssey-powered ROMULUS family,” said Chris Kastner, HII president and CEO. The Odyssey ACS suite has recorded over 6,000 operational hours across more than 35 USV platforms, including in programs with the U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Coast Guard, and allied partners. Its open-access architecture supports integration of new sensors, payloads, and autonomy technologies.
ROMULUS integrates systems from Shield AI, Applied Intuition, and C3 AI alongside Odyssey, supporting autonomy, object classification, and lifecycle sustainment. Its modular design enables missions across surface, subsurface, and air domains, including counter-unmanned air systems, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, strike operations, and deployment of unmanned undersea and aerial vehicles.
Combined with HII’s REMUS unmanned undersea vehicles, ROMULUS extends undersea reach and supports anti-submarine warfare and mine counter-measure operations.
HII reported that over 700 REMUS units have been delivered to more than 30 nations, with more than 90% still in operation.
The ROMULUS family uses modular, open standards such as Unmanned Maritime Autonomy Architecture, Robot Operating System, and Data Distribution Service.
Odyssey enables single-agent or swarm control, secure data management, autonomous health monitoring, sensor fusion, and navigation compliant with International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea.
ROMULUS was developed with support from HII’s Dark Sea Labs Advanced Technology Group.