An artist rendering of Romulus, a Medium Unmanned Surface Vessel , designed by Huntington Ingalls Industries. (Huntington Ingalls Industries)
Seven companies have been chosen to submit design prototypes for a Medium Unmanned Surface Vessel, the Navy said Friday.
Birdon, Galliano Marine Services, Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII), Leidos, PacMar Technologies, Saronic Technologies and Sea Machines are the seven designers invited to submit their MUSV prototypes for at-sea testing that begins in June and concludes in October.
Each design that meets the Navy’s specifications and passes at-sea testing will receive $15 million. The prototypes will also be eligible for production.
The Navy has said it has no minimum or maximum limit on how many designs it could select. The seven designs were chosen from about two dozen submissions.
The Navy’s criteria call for a vessel with a range of at least 2,500 nautical miles and a speed of 25 knots. It must be able to operate in sea state 4, defined by the World Meteorological Organization as moderately rough seas with wave heights of up to 8 feet.
The vessel must be able to operate autonomously while carrying up to 25 metric tons of weapons or other cargo in at least two 40-foot-long shipping containers.
The Navy plans to procure 36 Medium Unmanned Surface Vessels in Fiscal Year 2026, using $5 billion from the 2026 Reconciliation Act set aside for marketplace contracting, in which companies would bear the cost of prototyping.
The Navy said it hopes to have vessels available for leasing or procurement in Fiscal Year 2027.
The MUSV marketplace competition was created to offer new opportunities for smaller, non-traditional shipyards to build portions of the Navy’s future fleet.
“This initiative represents a strategic shift in naval acquisition, designed to rapidly field unmanned technologies by leveraging mature, existing commercial solutions,” the Navy said in a statement.
