Jane Edwards 
- HII has enlarged its Pocasset manufacturing footprint by 25 percent
- The additional space supports Navy Lionfish and REMUS 620 vehicle production
- Expansion advances integration of Odyssey autonomy software
HII has added 10,000 square feet to its unmanned systems manufacturing campus in Pocasset, Massachusetts, increasing the site’s capacity to build and integrate autonomous maritime platforms amid rising demand for such systems worldwide.
The company said Tuesday Rep. Bill Keating, D-Mass., attended a ribbon-cutting ceremony marking the expansion.
What Does the Expanded Pocasset Facility Support?
The addition enlarges HII’s existing 40,000-square-foot plant, where the company builds and integrates its REMUS unmanned underwater vehicles, or UUVs, and ROMULUS unmanned surface vessels, or USVs.
The new space adds production capacity for the REMUS 620 UUV and the Navy’s Lionfish small unmanned undersea vehicle. Lionfish is based on the REMUS 300 platform, and the Navy exercised an option year in July for its continued production. HII said the expansion also supports integration of its Odyssey autonomy software and hardware.
The Pocasset site employs about 300 people, including 50 workers HII has hired so far in 2026.
Duane Fotheringham, president of the unmanned systems group within HII’s Mission Technologies division, said the expansion demonstrates the company’s ongoing commitment to its workforce, technology and partnerships.
“By bringing together advanced unmanned platforms, autonomy, integration, simulation and modeling capabilities, we are expanding our ability to deliver the maritime systems our customers need while continuing to create high-quality jobs here in Massachusetts,” Fotheringham added.
What Is REMUS?
REMUS is a family of modular UUVs that HII builds for military, scientific and commercial users. The line includes the REMUS 130, 300, 620 and 6000 variants, which have depth ratings from 100 to 6,000 meters and support intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, as well as mine countermeasures and anti-submarine warfare missions.
HII has delivered more than 750 REMUS vehicles to customers in over 30 countries since the line’s introduction 25 years ago.
What Is ROMULUS?
ROMULUS is a family of USVs powered by HII’s Odyssey autonomy suite and built for long-duration, open-ocean operations. The roughly 190-foot vessel can travel at more than 25 knots and carries modular payloads for ISR, force protection and strike missions. It can also launch and recover UUVs, unmanned aerial vehicles and smaller ROMULUS vessels.
What Other Unmanned Systems Efforts Has HII Pursued?
The facility expansion follows several recent moves by HII to scale production of autonomous maritime platforms. In March, the company partnered with Nominal to modernize data collection, validation and analysis processes that support the production and testing of its REMUS and ROMULUS vessels. Later that month, HII expanded its USV facility at Breaux Brothers Enterprises in New Iberia, Louisiana, to support serial production of ROMULUS vessels under its High-Yield Production Robotics, or HYPR, initiative.
In August, HII signed performance-based production agreements with GrayMatter Robotics and Path Robotics under HYPR to advance physical AI automation across U.S. Navy shipbuilding programs, including work on unmanned surface vessels. That same month, the Defense Innovation Unit recognized the completion of HII’s PRIME prototype project, which featured the Watcher small unmanned surface vessel.
HII’s unmanned platforms have also drawn international orders, including a July 2025 order from Hitachi for more than a dozen REMUS 300 vehicles.
