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US defence prime HII has demonstrated a significant step forward in integrated unmanned maritime operations, successfully linking its Romulus unmanned surface vessel and Remus unmanned underwater vehicle families using a common autonomy architecture.
The demonstration centred on the Romulus 7, a seven-foot, man-portable unmanned surface vessel (USV) designed for expeditionary and special operations missions and highlighted how autonomous surface and subsurface systems can operate as a coordinated, multi-domain team with minimal operator burden.
During the trial, Romulus 7 was configured with two modular payload bays carrying mission equipment to validate surface-subsurface collaboration.
The test leveraged the proven Remus modular architecture, with the surface vessel operating alongside a Remus unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) in realistic operational conditions.
At the conclusion of the mission, Romulus 7 and Remus conducted coordinated autonomous operations, validating the ability of surface and undersea systems to work together seamlessly.
Remus’ established endurance, reliability and modularity enabled sustained testing and data collection across the full mission profile.
A central element of the demonstration was Romulus 7’s role as a mobile surface gateway, acting as an autonomous relay, the USV enabled real-time reachback to an operations centre and high-rate data exfiltration from the Remus UUV.
This approach extends operational reach while preserving stealth and autonomy, addressing one of the key challenges in distributed maritime operations.
Both platforms were powered by HII’s Odyssey Autonomous Control System, with mission planning, monitoring and management conducted through a single Odyssey Mission user interface.
According to HII, the use of a common autonomy backbone was critical, enabling cross-domain coordination without increasing cognitive load on operators.
The trial also validated Romulus 7’s standard communications and sensing suite, including acoustic communications for UUV collaboration, cameras, Wi-Fi, Starlink, mobile ad-hoc networking radios and GPS.
Together, these capabilities demonstrated the USV’s effectiveness as a resilient, networked force multiplier when paired with Remus.
The surface-subsurface teaming demonstration follows a separate recent trial in which HII successfully conducted autonomous shipboard deployment and recovery of a Remus UUV.
That testing validated key aspects of system performance required for fully autonomous, end-to-end launch and recovery, using a representative vehicle and procedures proven across repeated US Navy and allied operations.
Duane Fotheringham, president of Mission Technologies’ Unmanned Systems business group at HII, said the demonstration highlighted how mature undersea autonomy can be integrated into modern maritime operations.
“Remus has successfully performed autonomous line capture and recovery for years,” Fotheringham said. “What this demonstration shows is how seamlessly that capability integrates with automated launch and recovery systems onboard manned or unmanned vessels to support modern maritime operations.”
Remus is one of the most widely deployed UUV families globally, in service with more than 30 navies and used for missions, including mine countermeasures, undersea survey, intelligence collection and environmental sensing.
Its open architecture and modular design allow it to operate independently or as part of a distributed maritime force, teaming with crewed ships, unmanned surface vessels and other undersea platforms.
HII’s latest testing underscores a broader shift across allied navies towards integrated, multi-domain unmanned teams, systems designed not as stand-alone platforms, but as coordinated nodes in a wider maritime sensing and effects network.
Stephen Kuper
Steve has an extensive career across government, defence industry and advocacy, having previously worked for cabinet ministers at both Federal and State levels.
