U.S. Navy Orders 30 Unmanned Vessels for $1.2 Billion

The U.S. Navy has announced plans to acquire 30 new unmanned vessels as part of the Medium Unmanned Surface Vessel (MUSV) program.

The War Zone reported the development, citing official statements from U.S. Navy officials.

The agreement calls for the purchase of 10 vessels from each of three companies: Galliano MarineServices (Edison Chouest), Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII), and Saronic Technologies.

The contracts were awarded under the special streamlined Other Transaction Authority (OTA) mechanism, which allows the U.S. Navy to accelerate development and testing without lengthy bureaucratic procedures.

According to Chris Miller, the acting head of the U.S. Navy’s robotics and autonomous systems program, the average cost of each vessel is $40 million, bringing the total value of the contracts to $1.2 billion.

Production of the vessels will begin immediately at shipyards in Louisiana, with the first deliveries expected as early as 2027.

During the first phase of the MUSV program, the vessels demonstrated the ability to operate autonomously for more than 26 hours and travel over 360 nautical miles.

The baseline requirements include integration of standard shipping containers, allowing the payload to be quickly changed – from sensors to repair equipment or weapons.

The vessels are designed to operate in sea conditions up to Sea State 4 under the STANAG 4194 scale and maintain survivability during storms up to Sea State 6.

In preparation for the second phase, the U.S. Navy dropped strict requirements for high speed and at-sea refueling in order to broaden the pool of potential suppliers.

As previously reported, the U.S. and British navies successfully tested the launch of the Mk.48 heavy torpedo from the British autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) XV EXCALIBUR.

The tests took place on September 13 at the British Underwater Test and Evaluation Centre (BUTEC) range in Scotland.