HII announces ROMULUS USV site expansion, introduces HYPR initiative

HII has outlined its strategy to accelerate the production of the ROMULUS uncrewed surface vessel (USV) platform in a video released on 25 March 2026.

The company plans to expand its assembly facility at Breaux Brothers Enterprises in New Iberia, Louisiana, and introduce a new robotics initiative named High-Yield Production Robotics (HYPR).

The upgraded facility at Breaux Brothers is intended to facilitate serial manufacturing of ROMULUS vessels, accommodating sizes from approximately 20 feet (ft) to 190ft in length.

HII aims to implement automation, advanced tooling, and standardised workflows to allow efficient, high-volume output across multiple USV variants using a common methodology.

According to HII, this approach is designed to reduce unit costs and speed up production schedules for the ROMULUS family.

HII mission technologies division president Andy Green said: “ROMULUS is engineered from the outset for scale. By pairing a purpose-built assembly line with automation and strong industry partnerships, we are driving predictable production outcomes and lowering the cost of unmanned surface vessels. This positions us to deliver capability faster and at volumes aligned with fleet needs.”

The HYPR initiative will introduce robotic welding, automated material movement, and digital quality assurance processes within a dedicated assembly-line environment optimised for ROMULUS production.

ROMULUS serves as the main application for HYPR, which will support automated assembly lines for larger vessels to improve efficiency and maintain quality.

HII plans to conduct proof-of-concept demonstrations this year with several partners and aims to start a full-scale pilot programme in early 2027.

The company collaborates with partners such as Breaux Brothers Enterprises and Incat Crowther on vessel design alignment, production tooling, and layout of facility.

The goal is to apply commercial best practices adapted for autonomous naval platforms.

ROMULUS USVs are built with modularity to serve a variety of missions for the US Navy, US Marine Corps, joint forces, and allied clients.

The vessels are centred on Odyssey Autonomous Control System for sustained operations and can be configured through modular payload integration for various tasks. These include intelligence collection, mine countermeasures, strike operations, and deployment of other unmanned systems.

Technologies from Shield AI, Applied Intuition, and C3 AI are incorporated for autonomous function and lifecycle management.

Currently, a prototype ROMULUS USV is under construction at the New Iberia site.

In December last year, HII reported that this prototype had reached 30% completion and remains on track for sea trials scheduled in the fourth quarter of 2026.