America's Largest Military Shipbuilder Scales Up Naval Unmanned Surface Vessel Production

HII, the United States' largest military shipbuilder and autonomous maritime systems developer, has formally expanded its manufacturing network by bringing Halimar Shipyard in Morgan City, Louisiana into the ROMULUS Unmanned Surface Vessel (USV) family's production ecosystem as a strategic industrial partner.

Halimar Shipyard, which has extensive experience building commercial and government vessels, will be responsible for manufacturing complete ROMULUS 151 platforms, leveraging its skilled workforce, modern production facilities, and proven shipbuilding capabilities to support full-rate production operations.

Under the partnership agreement, Halimar will work alongside Breaux Brothers Enterprises — which currently has five ROMULUS 151 vessels under construction — to increase batch production capacity. The collaboration is expected to expand manufacturing output, accelerate production timelines, and help meet the growing demand for autonomous maritime capabilities from the U.S. Navy and allied naval forces.

Strengthening the Autonomous Maritime Systems Supply Chain

Andy Green, Executive Vice President and President of HII's Mission Technologies division, described the partnership with Halimar Shipyard as a critical step toward large-scale delivery of autonomous maritime systems and the expansion of industrial capacity.

Green noted that Halimar's shipbuilding experience, skilled technical workforce, and Gulf Coast location will help HII accelerate production, strengthen supply chain resilience, and deliver cost-effective autonomous platforms purpose-built for operational missions.

William Hidalgo Jr., Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Halimar Shipyard, emphasized that the company's decades of experience building high-quality vessels positions it to provide reliable and scalable production capacity for the ROMULUS program to meet evolving mission requirements.

HII added that Halimar's integration into the ROMULUS production network will help the company expand manufacturing capacity, enhance supply chain flexibility, and support long-term production goals. The yard will provide scalable capability to build complete ROMULUS 151 vessels while collaborating with HII and other partners to improve manufacturing readiness and ensure reliable, cost-effective delivery of autonomous maritime systems on schedule.

ROMULUS Vessels Bring New Capabilities to Maritime Operations

ROMLUS is designed as an AI-enabled unmanned surface vessel family with a modular architecture capable of supporting a diverse range of maritime missions, including Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR), mine countermeasures, strike operations, counter-UAS, and the launch and recovery of unmanned underwater and aerial vehicles.

The platform combines a modular architecture with repeatable manufacturing processes to support large-scale production of autonomous maritime systems. A unified design approach and autonomy framework allow HII to scale production across different vessel sizes while reducing complexity and accelerating deployment timelines.

As the shipbuilding partner network spanning the Gulf Coast and beyond continues to grow, ROMULUS is positioned not only as an advanced unmanned surface vessel but as a broader manufacturing initiative designed to deliver autonomous capabilities that meet modern naval requirements.

The expanded ROMULUS production network is expected to strengthen the U.S. shipbuilding industrial base by increasing regional manufacturing capacity, driving workforce growth, and establishing a resilient production ecosystem capable of supporting future autonomous fleet requirements.

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