HII hopes to secure a deal to supply its Watcher uncrewed surface vessel (USV) to the US Marine Corps (USMC) after its drone successfully completed a test programme.
Developed alongside Canadian shipbuilder MetalCraft Marine, the Watcher USV is based on HII’s Romulus-25 platform and runs on the same Odyssey autonomy suite.
At the end of 2025 two Watchers were delivered to the U.S. Department of War’s Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) to take part in its Production-Ready, Inexpensive, Maritime Expeditionary (PRIME) programme.
As per HII, the DIU has now confirmed that Watcher, which it designates as an sUSV [small USV] “successfully met the programme’s technical objectives and is now positioned for a potential transition to production.”
It said a DIU memo noted: “The HII Watcher sUSV has successfully demonstrated its appropriateness to address the Department of the Navy’s operational need for sUSV interceptors, capable of autonomously transiting hundreds of miles through contested waterspace, loitering in an assigned operating area while monitoring for maritime surface threats, and then sprinting to interdict a noncooperative, manoeuvring vessel.”
HII Mission Technologies division’s Unmanned Systems group president Duane Fotheringham said: “This milestone is another example of HII’s strategy to rapidly transition innovative technologies from concept to operational capability.”
And MetalCraft Marine GM Mike Reed added: “This milestone is a significant accomplishment for the entire MetalCraft team and a strong validation of what can be achieved when our experienced boatbuilders combine their expertise with HII autonomy capabilities.
“The Watcher was engineered and built to deliver the speed, seakeeping, strength and reliability demanded by this mission. Successfully completing the government-led autonomy, seakeeping, performance and degraded-environment assessments confirms the quality of the aluminum platform and the discipline behind its design and construction.
“MetalCraft has built its reputation on high-performance aluminum vessels that perform when needed most, and this milestone positions the Watcher for the next step, from successful prototype to production.”
As per HII, its Romulus-25 base platform is a high-speed interceptor with a 1,000lb payload capacity and a range of up to 1,000 nautical miles.
- You can read more details on the HII website
