U.S. defence giant HII has announced it is doubling the size of its facility devoted to uncrewed systems in the U.K.
Its expanded base in Portchester, Hampshire, will support existing customers and also serve as the European hub for HII’s Mission Technologies division.
As per an HII press statement, the facility will offer “collaborative customer support for U.S. combatant commands and allied missions.
“The site will provide operational, technical, and logistics support to deploy, sustain, and integrate electronic warfare and C5ISR systems, fleet modernization efforts, artificial intelligence capabilities, and live, virtual, and constructive training.”
Many European navies already operate a variety of HII’s existing line of Remus uncrewed underwater vehicles (UUVs). The Royal Navy uses Remus 100, 300 and 600 UUVs for mine countermeasures (MCM) operations. At present a total of 14 NATO members and 30 nations globally use Remus UUVs.
Last autumn the firm announced it was teaming with Babcock to integrate Remus vehicles with the British firm’s submarine Weapon Handling and Launch Systems (WHLS) to allow autonomous launch and recovery of UUVs through submarine torpedo tubes.
As well as Royal Navy submarines, Babcock’s WHLS are in service with fleets in Australia, Canada, South Korea and Spain.
HII has also recently developed a complementary family of uncrewed surface vessels (USVs), dubbed Romulus. The largest of these, the Romulus 190, will be 190 feet long; it’s expected to have a 2,500 nautical mile range and a top speed of 25 knots. HII has also developed an autonomous control suite called Odyssey for both uncrewed platforms.
The HII statement noted: “The facility also prepares the region for the deployment and sustainment of HII’s Romulus family of USVs, a modular AI-enabled line powered by HII’s Odyssey Autonomous Control System and scheduled for availability in 2026.”
President of the firm’s Mission Technologies’ Unmanned Systems business group Duane Fotheringham added: “This new HII Portchester facility reinforces HII’s long term presence in the United Kingdom and provides a strong foundation for future cooperation. It ensures that U.K. and European operators, suppliers, and partners… receive regional access to world-class support, training and sustainment.”
- You can read more details on the HII website