SLIDELL, La., June 08, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — HII (NYSE: HII), America’s largest military shipbuilder and a global leader in autonomous maritime systems, today announced that Bayou Metal Supply & Manufacturing, a strategic partner in the serial production of HII’s ROMULUS unmanned surface vessels (USVs), has launched a dedicated manufacturing line to support accelerated construction of the platform.
The new production line, located in Slidell, Louisiana, provides precision cutting, bending, welding, and assembly of major structural components into complete assembly units ready for shipment to Breaux Brothers Enterprises for final integration into the ROMULUS USV platform.
Bayou Metals is playing a critical role on HII’s ROMULUS USV shipbuilding team as a strategic aluminum supply and fabrication partner. The company is providing marine-grade aluminum while establishing dedicated manufacturing capacity to meet the ROMULUS USV production schedule.
“As we move from prototype to production, partnerships like Bayou Metals are essential to delivering capability at speed and scale,” said Andy Green, executive vice president of HII and president of HII’s Mission Technologies division. “Their ability to combine material supply with advanced fabrication strengthens our production model, reduces risk, and accelerates delivery the ROMULUS USV to the fleet.”
Photos accompanying this release are available at: http://hii.com/news/hii-partner-bayou-metals-launches-dedicated-manufacturing-line-to-accelerate-romulus-usv-production/.
William Stout, chief executive officer of Bayou Metal stated, “Bayou Metal is proud to continue its longstanding relationship with and support of industry leaders such as HII and Breaux Brothers. We remain committed to providing world-class service, quality materials, and trusted partnerships to the marine and shipbuilding sectors for years to come.”
HII’s integrated coordination with Bayou Metals and other manufacturing partners ensures avoiding delays in securing materials and building parts. It also makes production more efficient by completing most of the setup work before final assembly at the shipyard. This model enhances throughput and supports faster, more repeatable serial production of ROMULUS vessels across multiple shipyards.
In addition to improving manufacturing performance, the effort supports expansion of the U.S. shipbuilding industrial base by growing Gulf Coast manufacturing capacity and building a larger skilled workforce.
HII recently announced plans for the production of four ROMULUS 151 vessels to be built by Breaux Brothers Enterprises in Louisiana, in addition to the vessel currently under construction. The announcement signals a rapid transition to initial production as HII accelerates delivery of autonomous surface capability to the U.S. Navy and allied partners.
“ROMULUS represents a shift in how we deliver unmanned capability to the fleet,” Green said. “We are combining shipbuilding experience, scalable manufacturing, proven autonomy, and strong industry partnerships to move quickly from prototype to operational deployment.”
ROMULUS USV: Built for Scale and Mission Flexibility
ROMULUS is a modular family of AI-enabled USVs designed to support a wide range of missions, including intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR), mine countermeasures, strike operations, counter-unmanned systems, and the launch and recovery of unmanned underwater and aerial vehicles.
Engineered for serial, repeatable production, the platform combines endurance, global reach, and modular adaptability, enabling scalability across multiple vessel sizes while maintaining a common manufacturing and autonomy baseline.
About HII
HII is America’s largest shipbuilder, delivering the world’s most powerful ships and all-domain mission technologies, including unmanned systems, to U.S. and allied defense customers. HII is the largest producer of unmanned underwater vehicles for the U.S. Navy and the world.
With a more than 140-year history of advancing U.S. national security, HII builds and integrates defense capabilities extending from the core fleet to C6ISR, AI/ML, EW and synthetic training. Headquartered in Virginia, HII’s workforce is 44,000 strong. For more information, visit:
Contact:
Greg McCarthy
(202) 264-7126
[email protected]
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/c95ca844-2a63-4145-abbb-a27eaad32d60
