Seven companies are in the running for the U.S. Navy’s medium uncrewed surface vessel (MUSV) programme as it enters its in-water testing phase.
Birdon; Galliano Marine Services; Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII); Leidos; PacMar Technologies; Saronic Technologies; and Sea Machines are the seven companies selected from at least 25 submissions, as per a U.S. Navy press statement.
As per a statement from its Portfolio Acquisition Executive (PAE), Robotics and Autonomous Systems’ (RAS) department, in-water trials should start later this month and are set to conclude by the end of October.
It noted: “Companies whose MUSV successfully completes the at-sea test will receive $15 million and will be eligible for follow-on production.”
The “MUSV Marketplace” programme is seeking to give the chance for smaller, non-traditional shipyards to provide capabilities to the U.S. fleet, rapidly fielding uncrewed technologies already commercially available.
Birdon is developing an MUSV controlled by Mythos AI’s autonomy suite; Galliano Marine Services, aka Edison Chouest Offshore (ECO), is teamed with Anduril; HII will be testing its Romulus drone boat; Leidos’ uncrewed offerings include the Sea Hunter and Seahawk; PacMar’s 100-foot MUSV runs HavocAI’s autonomy suite; Saronic’s Marauder is about to start in-water testing; and Sea Machines will be trialling its Steamracer platform.
Executive vice president of HII and president of HII’s Mission Technologies division Andy Green commented: “HII is proud that ROMULUS USV has advanced to the U.S. Navy’s Medium Unmanned Surface Vessel evaluation phase, a milestone that reflects HII’s longstanding track record for delivering mission-ready autonomous capabilities that support the U.S. Navy’s evolving operational requirements.
“At the core of the ROMULUS USV is HII’s extensive experience as a global leader in autonomous unmanned maritime systems, combined with HII’s Odyssey Autonomous Control Solutions, a proven autonomy software suite and a key differentiator of our solution.
“Demonstrated across programs supporting the U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Coast Guard, and allied partners, Odyssey enables intuitive command and control of autonomous platforms and swarms across domains, enhancing fleet lethality, survivability, and operational effectiveness.”
- You can read more details on the U.S. Navy website and the HII website