HII, Shield AI Complete First Major Test of Autonomous Vessel

HII and Shield AI have announced the successful completion of their first major test of an integrated autonomy system aboard HII’s ROMULUS unmanned surface vessel (USV).

The announcement was made at the Indo Pacific International Maritime Exposition.

The three-day test, held in late October in Virginia Beach, combined Shield AI’s Hivemind autonomy software with HII’s Odyssey autonomy suite on a ROMULUS 20 vessel.

This marks the first time Hivemind has been deployed at sea, bringing its proven AI mission autonomy previously used in aerial systems to the maritime domain.

According to HII, the milestone was achieved less than six weeks after the companies announced their partnership, demonstrating their ability to rapidly and effectively integrate advanced defense technologies.

ROMULUS is a modular, high-performance line of unmanned vessels designed for flexibility and fast production.

The lead ship, ROMULUS 190, now under construction, is designed to exceed 25 knots, travel up to 2,500 nautical miles, and carry four 40-foot ISO containers. It will feature both the Odyssey and Hivemind systems for next-generation autonomous operations.

Hivemind allows unmanned systems to complete complex missions even in GPS- and communication-denied environments. Through this partnership, the Hivemind and Odyssey systems will be integrated across the ROMULUS fleet to operate alongside crewed vessels, enabling intelligent coordination and multi-agent autonomy.

By combining Shield AI’s advanced autonomy technology with HII’s expertise in shipbuilding and unmanned systems, the two companies aim to accelerate the development and deployment of autonomous capabilities across air and sea platforms.