FARNBOROUGH, United Kingdom, May 20, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — HII (NYSE: HII) is showcasing its role as America’s largest military shipbuilder and a global leader in autonomous unmanned maritime systems at the Combined Naval Event (CNE) 2026, taking place May 19–21 at the Farnborough International Exhibition Centre in the United Kingdom.
At CNE 2026, HII features exhibits and executive presentations highlighting the company’s expertise in unmanned maritime systems, autonomous operations, manned-unmanned teaming, and scalable production of next-generation undersea and surface platforms.
HII is also underscoring its role in designing, developing and operating the largest live, virtual, constructive (LVC) enterprise preparing warfighters for cross-domain battle with advanced technologies to enable mission readiness. HII partners with military experts to combine vendor-agnostic tools and operational experiences for an integrated LVC environment that maintains tactical realism, even as the scope or battlespace changes.
A photo accompanying this release is available at: http://hii.com/news/hii-showcases-next-generation-autonomous-unmanned-maritime-and-lvc-capabilities-at-combined-naval-event-2026/
“HII is proud to be a partner to the U.S. Navy, Royal Navy, NATO allies, and international partners in supporting the growing need for autonomous capabilities and mission enabling technologies in naval operations across both the undersea and surface domains,” said Duane Fotheringham, president of the Unmanned Systems group in HII’s Mission Technologies division. “Our autonomous maritime systems are operating today in some of the world’s most demanding environments, and we continue to advance capabilities that extend mission reach, improve fleet survivability, and strengthen allied interoperability across the maritime domain.”
HII’s exhibit and presentations feature the company’s expanding portfolio of autonomous maritime technologies, including the REMUS family of unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs) and the ROMULUS family of AI-enabled unmanned surface vessels (USVs) as well as HII’s Odyssey Autonomous Control System (ACS) software suite.
This year marks the 25th anniversary of the REMUS UUV family, widely recognized as the world’s leading autonomous underwater vehicle platform supporting defense, commercial, and scientific missions worldwide. HII has delivered more than 750 REMUS vehicles to over 30 countries, including 14 NATO members, with more than 90% of systems remaining operational after more than two decades of service.
HII’s Odyssey ACS software suite has demonstrated successful performance in U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Coast Guard, and international allied programs. Odyssey’s intuitive interface and enhanced, customizable features generate the required mission behaviors for greater lethality and survivability with simplified control of unmanned swarms across domains, making it a force multiplier for the modern fleet.
HII is also highlighting several recent milestones demonstrating the rapid advancement of autonomous naval capabilities, including:
- A recent U.S. Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) contract award to deliver a submarine Torpedo Tube Launch and Recovery (TTLR) system designed to autonomously deploy and recover HII’s REMUS UUVs from U.S. Navy submarines.
- Successful forward-deployed torpedo tube launch and recovery operations of an HII-built REMUS 600 UUV from USS Delaware (SSN 791), marking a significant advancement in autonomous manned-unmanned teaming for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) missions.
- Expansion of HII’s unmanned systems presence in Europe through the recently enlarged Portchester, U.K., facility, which serves as a regional hub supporting allied naval customers, sustainment operations, training, and future deployment of autonomous systems.
- Continued progress toward scaled production of HII’s ROMULUS USV family, including construction of multiple ROMULUS 151 vessels and development of advanced manufacturing initiatives designed to accelerate delivery of autonomous maritime capability to allied fleets.
HII is a leader in integrating manned-unmanned maritime teaming and mission-enabling technologies to address rapidly evolving operational requirements for U.S. and allied naval forces.
This includes the ongoing collaboration with Babcock International Group to integrate autonomous launch and recovery capabilities for UUVs through submarine torpedo tubes, and Babcock’s ARMOR (Autonomous and Remote, Maritime Operational Response) Force initiative, developed to support the U.K. Royal Navy’s next-generation autonomous and crewed maritime programs. The ARMOR Force features integration of HII’s AI-enabled ROMULUS family of USVs as part of future autonomous fleet capabilities.
HII’s autonomous maritime systems support a broad range of missions, including mine countermeasures, ISR, seabed warfare, hydrographic survey, counter-unmanned systems operations, strike missions, and launch and recovery of unmanned aerial and underwater vehicles.
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/baf7df9e-6096-4056-852e-2950d167110a
