Shield AI and HII Partner to Accelerate Modular Cross-Domain Mission Autonomy Solutions

LONDON, Sept. 10, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- HII (NYSE: HII), America’s largest military shipbuilder, and Shield AI, the deep-tech company building state-of-the-art autonomy software products and aircraft, today announced a partnership to advance modular, cross-domain mission autonomy.

The announcement was made in London at DSEI 2025, one of the world’s premier defense and security exhibitions.

The partnership brings together Shield AI’s Hivemind mission autonomy software and HII’s Odyssey suite to develop next-generation autonomous solutions. By combining Shield AI’s advanced autonomy with HII’s decades of maritime expertise as America’s largest shipbuilder and leading global unmanned underwater vehicle provider, the two companies aim to accelerate autonomy across domains and platforms.

“This partnership combines the very best of emerging mission autonomy with the proven platforms and integration expertise that HII delivers across the maritime domain,” said Eric Chewning, executive vice president of maritime systems and corporate strategy at HII. “By pairing Shield AI’s cutting-edge Hivemind software with HII’s Odyssey suite, we are creating scalable, modular solutions that will give U.S. and allied forces an operational edge across every environment — air, land, surface and undersea. Together, we are accelerating the future of autonomous operations and ensuring our warfighters can operate with greater speed, flexibility and resilience.”

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“Our partnership with HII expands our commitment to delivering autonomy rapidly, safely, and repeatedly at scale across all domains,” said Nathan Michael, Shield AI’s chief technology officer. “HII stands as a global leader in maritime innovation, bringing unmatched expertise to this collaboration and serving as a force multiplier to accelerate the advancement of autonomous capabilities. As we look towards the future of autonomy, we see our partnership with HII as a step towards redefining what maritime operations will look like.”

Hivemind is Shield AI’s autonomy software that enables unmanned systems to execute complex missions with high reliability in GPS- and communications-denied environments. Built for modular integration and deployment across multiple platforms, Hivemind allows partners and customers to rapidly develop, test and field mission autonomy on a wide range of systems, across every domain. Hivemind has proven success in autonomously piloting air vehicles, including the MQ-20 Avenger, V-BAT, and F-16. This partnership represents the beginning of Hivemind’s application in the maritime domain that will initially focus on unmanned surface vehicles (USVs) and expand into unmanned undersea vehicles (UUVs), including platforms such as HII’s REMUS line.

HII’s Odyssey autonomy software enables unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), USV, and UUV individual and teaming operations across domains. Built on an open-standard, government-aligned architecture, Odyssey allows rapid integration of sensors, payloads, and third-party autonomy technologies, giving partners the flexibility to develop and field new capabilities in step with emerging naval concepts. Proven on more than 35 Unmanned Surface Vehicle platforms with over 6,000 operational hours across the U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Coast Guard, and allied programs, Odyssey delivers intuitive control, customizable mission behaviors, and seamless interoperability — making it a force multiplier for the modern fleet.

About HII

HII is a global, all-domain defense provider. HII’s mission is to deliver the world’s most powerful ships and all-domain solutions in service of the nation, creating the advantage for our customers to protect peace and freedom around the world.

As the nation’s largest military shipbuilder, and with a more than 135-year history of advancing U.S. national security, HII delivers critical capabilities extending from ships to unmanned systems, cyber, ISR, AI/ML and synthetic training. Headquartered in Virginia, HII’s workforce is 44,000 strong. For more information, visit:

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About Shield AI

Founded in 2015, Shield AI is a venture-backed defense technology company with the mission of protecting service members and civilians with intelligent systems. Its products include the V-BAT aircraft, Hivemind Enterprise, and the Hivemind Vision product lines. With offices in San Diego, Dallas, Washington, D.C., Boston, Abu Dhabi (UAE), Kyiv (Ukraine), Oslo (Norway) and Melbourne (Australia), Shield AI’s technology actively supports U.S. and allied operations worldwide. For more information, visit Follow Shield AI on , and     

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