HII
Huntington Ingalls Industries; the largest US naval shipbuilder, also producing REMUS and ROMULUS uncrewed underwater vehicles.
HII, the largest US naval shipbuilder, pitched its REMUS underwater-vehicle programme to the Royal Navy via UK partner Babcock at the Combined Naval Event on 19 May 2026, expanding its Portchester facility into a European hub for allied navies.
Last refreshed: 24 July 2026 · Appears in 1 active topic
Is HII's Portchester hub positioning it to become the dominant supplier to NATO's sub-launched UUV fleet?
Timeline for HII
Mentioned in: Europe bids for the AUKUS seabed
Autonomous Systems: Land & SeaMentioned in: NATO sends robot fleet to the Arctic
Autonomous Systems: Land & SeaShowcased REMUS and ROMULUS 151 at CNE, expanded Portchester hub, deepened Babcock ARMOR Force tie-up
Autonomous Systems: Land & Sea: US prime digs into UK seabed warBackground
HII (Huntington Ingalls Industries) is the United States' largest military shipbuilder and the maker of the REMUS family of uncrewed underwater vehicles. It has delivered more than 750 REMUS UUVs to over 30 countries, and demonstrated a REMUS 600 launched and recovered through a submarine torpedo tube, a capability that turns a submerged boat into a forward sensor host.
HII's UK strategy is structured as an industrial foothold rather than a direct export: it has enlarged its Portchester facility as a European hub for allied navies, routing its pitch through British firm Babcock rather than competing against domestic suppliers. The strategic context is seabed infrastructure protection: as subsea cables and pipelines enter the defence threat picture, navies guarding them face procurement urgency, and HII's torpedo-tube UUV capability sits at the centre of that race across NATO.
HII courts the Royal Navy through Babcock
At the Combined Naval Event in Farnborough from 19 to 21 May 2026, HII presented its REMUS underwater-vehicle family to the Royal Navy through British partner Babcock under the ARMOR Force initiative, alongside an enlarged Portchester hub positioned as its European base. HII has delivered more than 750 REMUS vehicles to over 30 countries, and in May a REMUS 600 launched and recovered through the torpedo tube of the submarine USS Delaware.
Routing through Babcock rather than a direct export lets HII claim a UK industrial footprint that is harder to displace on sovereignty grounds. The approach faced its first European counter-bid on 8 June, when Norway's Kongsberg and Italy's DRASS proposed a joint submarine-and-drone package for the same AUKUS-linked seabed contest.
What is HII's role in the Royal Navy's autonomous underwater programme?
How many REMUS underwater drones has HII delivered?
Why is HII setting up a hub at Portchester in the UK?
What is torpedo-tube launch and recovery of underwater drones used for?
