Photo: U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Jesse Monford (Public domain), via Wikimedia Commons (source)
After Phase I sea trials, the U.S. Navy said it will field 30 Medium Unmanned Surface Vessels, and signed production Other Transaction Authority deals with three builders: Galliano Marine Services, HII and Saronic Technologies, a Sept. 29 statement from the service's robotic and autonomous systems program office said.
Under each agreement the Navy is buying 10 MUSVs. The average procurement cost is $40 million per vessel — about $1.2 billion for all 30. First deliveries are due before fiscal year 2027 ends, the Navy said. UK Defence Journal carried the same numbers on Oct. 2.
Testing and other awards
In Phase I, testers checked how well each craft sensed nearby traffic, followed collision-avoidance rules and completed a long endurance run, according to the Navy.
Leidos, PAC MAR and Sea Machines finished the prototype work spelled out in their earlier agreements and will each get a $15 million payment already set in those deals, the statement said. Those three firms, plus the three production awardees, will join the Maritime Marketplace on Drones.mil and can compete for later production awards from Department of War buyers.
Hung Cao, the acting Navy secretary, said sailors and Marines "don't have time to wait on bureaucracy while our adversaries pace forward," and called the MUSV award an example of faster buying so the fleet gets what it needs.
The Chief of Naval Operations said the boats support the hedge strategy in the Navy's fighting instructions: extra capacity that can be adapted quickly, spread across the battlespace and put at risk without putting sailors at unnecessary risk, plus a hull that can take new sensors, weapons and other payloads as requirements change.
Industry approaches
UK Defence Journal wrote that HII is offering its ROMULUS line of autonomous vessels, that Saronic has moved from smaller craft toward larger designs, and that Galliano Marine Services comes out of the Gulf Coast offshore fleet. Earlier Navy and DARPA work on medium uncrewed surface craft included Sea Hunter, Overlord and a 2020 MUSV prototype award to L3Harris, that outlet said.
What's next
On Sept. 23 the Navy issued a follow-on integration and testing solicitation meant to widen the supplier pool through the Maritime Marketplace for later mission sets, the program office said. The Navy's robotic and autonomous systems program office, working with its warfighting development center, is tasked with moving these systems into operational use.
Sources
- U.S. Navy DRPM RAS: Navy to Procure 30 Medium Unmanned Surface Vessels Following Completion of Phase I At-Sea Testing (2026-09-29)
- UK Defence Journal: US Navy to buy 30 medium drone warships from three firms (2026-10-02)
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