What Are the New US Marine Corps Autonomous Vessels?

The defense shipbuilding giant Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII), along with premium workboat manufacturer MetalCraft Marine Inc., has sea tested and delivered two unmanned surface vessels (USVs) named ROMULUS-25. The delivery supports a Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) initiative to provide small-form-factor autonomous surface craft for Marine Corps operations on May 15, 2026.

“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.

ROMULUS 190, the flagship of the ROMULUS family, was first unveiled on September 9, 2025, as a project partnered with Breaux Brothers, Beier Integrated Systems, and Incat Crowther. The ROMULUS fleet, which ranges from 7-foot micro-USVs to the ROMULUS-190 (a 190-foot aluminum Unmanned Surface Vessel), is designed to serve the interests of the U.S. Navy, Marine Corps, and allied forces.

According to HII, the ROMULUS-25 is a 27-foot tactical interceptor capable of transporting up to 1,000 pounds of payload over an operational range of 1,000 nautical miles at high speeds. The vessel is powered by HII’s Odyssey AI-based autonomy system, which combines diverse sensors and effectors for synchronized, cross-domain maritime deployment, providing full autonomous capabilities for military use.

Odyssey Autonomy: The Transformer

According to HII, Odyssey autonomy has been deployed on more than 30 platforms, accumulating over 12,000 hours of successful at-sea operations. The company said the system’s modular open systems architecture and service-based design allow it to integrate with the HII Minotaur targeting network, improving mission operations and edge-based capabilities through AI-driven contact recognition and identification.

Odyssey was released on April 4, 2022, as a collection of advanced autonomy solutions featuring multi-vehicle collaborative autonomy, autonomous health monitoring, sensor fusion, and perception. It aims to transform ships and vehicles of any domain into “an intelligent, robotic platform,” according to HII. As per the company, Odyssey Autonomy has validated its capabilities through 2,200 hours of autonomous operations, including government-led tests and exercises.

Earlier in 2020, HII purchased Hydroid for $350 million, absorbing the REMUS family into its Mission Technologies division. REMUS (Remote Environmental Monitoring UnitS) has since emerged as a world-renowned family of Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs).

HII has expressed its commitment to producing next-generation autonomous defense sea craft integrated with advanced tech and infrastructure.

According to the company, the successful execution of this award represents one of several ongoing commitments by HII and MetalCraft Marine to advance hybrid manned-unmanned fleet capabilities and support autonomous operations of naval missions worldwide.