Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) has announced that it will acquire Hydroid Inc., which will expand its capabilities in the “strategically important and rapidly growing” autonomous and unmanned maritime systems market, the company says. 

A provider of advanced marine robotics to the defense and maritime markets, and a U.S. based indirect subsidiary, wholly owned by Kongsberg Maritime, Hydroid will become part of HII’s Technical Solutions division.

“We are very excited about bringing Hydroid into the HII family and establishing a strategic alliance with Kongsberg Maritime,” says Mike Petters, HII’s president and CEO.

“Hydroid’s advanced capabilities and reputation for excellence in autonomous and unmanned maritime systems provide the perfect complement to our existing unmanned operations, including Proteus in Panama City and our partnership with Boeing to produce the Orca XLUUV. This transaction, along with the strategic alliance with Kongsberg Maritime, demonstrates our long term commitment to the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Coast Guard and our national security customers and allies globally.”

As Petters mentioned, HII is also establishing a strategic alliance with Kongsberg Maritime to jointly market naval and maritime products and services to the U.S. government market, with potential to expand to global markets. The companies say that their strategic alliance leverages their combined capabilities and resources to “enhance their respective services and product offerings” to the U.S. Navy, U.S. Coast Guard and other national security customers.

HII and Kongsberg Maritime will also look into opportunities to market each other’s products to customers across the world, and to work together on the development of innovative technologies.