HII Wraps Initial Lionfish Subsea Drone Production for US Navy
HII has completed the final base-year production of its Lionfish small unmanned underwater vehicle for the US Navy.
The program, awarded to the company in 2023, is intended to support “critical undersea warfare needs” of the force as it adopts dedicated autonomous capabilities for crewed vessels, including the Virginia-class submarines.
HII finished with 42 hulls of the system in December, following the delivery of two drones in April 2025.
The company is set to continue manufacturing the fleet for the navy through 2028, with an option for up to 200 platforms.
Related works are being performed at HII’s center in Pocasset, Massachusetts.
HII’s Lionfish System
The Lionfish is based on HII’s proprietary Remus 300 underwater drone, built with open architecture for future requirements.
Depending on its configuration, the Remus 300 measures 3 meters (10 feet) long and weighs 70 kilograms (154 pounds).
It has a range of up to 165 kilometers (103 miles), a speed of 5 knots (9 kilometers/6 miles per hour), a depth of up to 1,000 feet (305 meters), and a recharge time of 6 to 18 hours.
The US Navy selected the Remus 300 for the Lionfish program in 2022 after passing evaluations to replace the service’s Swordfish underwater drone fleet derived from HII’s older Remus 100 model.
