Hydroid, a developer of unmanned underwater vehicles (UUV) for the defense and maritime markets, is being acquired by shipbuilder Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) for $350 million. The acquisition is subject to regulatory review and is expected to close in the first quarter of 2020.

Pocasset, Mass.-based Hydroid will become part of HII’s Technical Solutions division. The acquisition of Hydroid expands HII capabilities in the growing unmanned maritime systems market.

Since 2001, Hydroid’s REMUS UUVs have been deployed in defense, marine research and commercial applications. The UUVs can dive to depths of up to 6,000 meters and explore shallow waters to hover in hazardous areas where navigation is difficult. The UUVs have reduced the high costs of ocean exploration and increased the availability of quality scientific marine data. Hydroid’s UUVs have explored plane and ship disasters, including locating wreckage such as Air France Flight 447 and generating 3D maps of the Titanic.

“We are very excited about bringing Hydroid into the HII family and establishing a strategic alliance with Kongsberg Maritime,” said 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.”

The strategic alliance between HII and Kongsberg Maritime leverages the companies’ 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.

Hydroid was acquired by Kongsberg Maritime in 2007 for $80 million. Kongsberg Maritime is a wholly-owned subsidiary of KONGSBERG, an international, knowledge-based corporation headquartered in Norway. The group delivers advanced technology systems and solutions to clients within the defense and aerospace market and commercial maritime market.

In January 2020, Robotics Business Review tracked a total of $1.16 billion in robotics-related acquisitions and investments. January’s biggest acquisition was Apple’s $200 million purchase of Xnor.AI, which has developed machine learning algorithms that can run on edge devices without relying on the cloud.