December 8, 2025
Babcock International has announced ARMOR (Autonomous and Remote, Maritime Operational Response) Force, a plan to support the U.K. Royal Navy’s next-generation autonomous and crewed programs which features the integration of HII’s AI-enabled ROMULUS family of unmanned surface vessels (USVs).
“HII is proud to be part of this game-changing industry initiative to deliver a hybrid Navy concept for the Royal Navy and international markets. Partnering with Babcock strengthens HII’s ability to deliver ROMULUS for the ARMOR Force and to support the Royal Navy’s vision for the future fleet. The ROMULUS family of USVs brings scale, autonomy, and real operational advantage, and HII adds world-leading expertise across land, sea, and air – as well as the capacity to innovate at scale with a platform already in production.”
– Chris Kastner, president and CEO of 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.
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