HII accelerates production of ROMULUS drones

The HII incorporates the Halimar Shipyard shipyard from Morgan City, Louisiana, into a network of plants working with unmanned vessels ROMULUS. This is another signal that the American shipping industry is increasingly taking the serial construction of marine unmanned systems seriously.

Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) is the largest American shipbuilding company working for the US Armed Forces. The group includes shipyards Newport News Shipbuilding and Ingalls Shipbuilding, known for their aircraft carriers, submarines, missile destroyers and landing ships. In recent years, HII has also developed unmanned systems under Mission Technologies.

ROMULUS goes beyond the stage of single structures

American shipbuilding company HII reported that Halimar Shipyard would build ROMULUS 151 units within the expanded production network of the program. The shipyard is to build complete units and cooperate with the Breaux Brothers Enterprises, also operating in Louisiana. According to HII, five ROMULUS 151 units are currently under construction in the Breaux Brothers.

This is not the most spectacular part of the programme Unmanned systems. However, it is most important in terms of whether the new equipment will remain an interesting demonstration of technology, or whether it will become a weapon manufactured in more numbers. HII clearly points to the second variant.

Louisiana shipyards are expected to increase production pace

The inclusion of Halimar Shipyard is intended to increase the production capacity of ROMULUS and shorten delivery time. HII underlines the experience of this shipyard in building units for commercial and government customers, as well as its location on the Gulf of Mexico coast.

This direction is clear. Instead of basing the entire program on one plant, HII builds a network of industrial partners. In practice, this means distributing work between several entities: shipyards, constructors, designers and companies responsible for the equipment. Such an approach is intended to reduce the risk of delays and allow production to be gradually increased when more procurement occurs.

Sea drones as an industrial problem

ROMULUS is a modular family Unmanned units water, developed for diagnosis, observation, mine and impact. The HII also points to the possibility of using them to combat unmanned systems and to cooperate with unmanned submarines and aircraft.

However, it is worth noting not only the tasks themselves, but the production facilities. Sea drones cease to be exclusively the subject of demonstrations, testing and visualization. Today it is not enough to design a successful sea drone. The importance of the programme is also determined by whether the industry can build such units serially and without many years of delays.

HII is trying to answer that question. The expansion of the ROMULUS production network shows that in the United States, maritime autonomy is treated not only as a technological challenge, but also as a task for the shipping industry. Without shipyards, people, suppliers and efficient work-sharing, even the best project will remain only a prototype.

Larger network, more resilience

ROMULUS, alongside Halimar Shipyard and Breaux Brothers Enterprises, also involve other industrial actors, including Bayou Metals and Incat Crowther design office from Sydney. HII presents this system as a model of distributed production, which aims to increase supply chain resilience and facilitate construction units.

This is also important from a broader perspective. American Polish Navy and maritime forces of allied states are increasingly interested in unmanned systems, but demand alone is not enough. There is still a need for facilities that will be able to deliver them not alone, but in series.

ROMULUS is to be such a program: not only a new family of unmanned water vessels, but also an attempt to create an industrial model for their rapid construction.

Source: ROMULUS