MUSV

Middle East Will Be Next Test Bed for Drone Ships, Aircraft as Navy Expands Unmanned Effort

USVs Ranger and Nomad unmanned vessels underway in the Pacific Ocean near the Channel Islands on July 3, 2021. US Navy Photo

Full of merchant traffic and security threats, the densely packed waterways of the Red Sea, Arabian Sea and the Persian Gulf will be a testing ground for the Navy’s push to make unmanned systems a practical part of the fleet, service leaders said on Wednesday.

U.S. 5th Fleet’s Task Force 59 will stand up on Thursday and be the second testing outfit for the Navy’s unmanned...

https://news.usni.org/2021/09/08/middle-east-will-be-next-test-bed-for-drone-ships-aircraft-as-navy-expands-unmanned-effort

Navy: Large USV Will Require Small Crews for the Next Several Years

Ghost Fleet Ship Nomad arriving at Point Loma, Calif., on May 29, 2021. Image via Twitter

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — The emerging fleet of U.S. military Large Unmanned Surface Vessels (LUSV) are set to navigate the open seas, avoid other vessels and carry out complex directives from a land-based command center over a secure commutations network. What they can’t do yet is pump their own gas.

For the foreseeable future, the LUSVs will require a small crew detachment aboard to carry out tasks not...

https://news.usni.org/2021/08/03/navy-large-usv-will-require-small-crews-for-the-next-several-years

Huntington Ingalls to Buy Alion Science and Technology in $1.65B Deal

The ninth Ingalls-built U.S. Coast Guard National Security Cutter, Stone (WMSL 758), under construction in September 2019. HII photo

Shipbuilder Huntington Ingalls Industries is set to buy defense services company Alion Science and Technology for $1.65 billion, HII officials said on Tuesday.

The acquisition of the McLean, Va.-based Alion adds to other recent HII buys the company said will better position its shipbuilding business to shape its platforms for a future U.S. military that will rely...

https://news.usni.org/2021/07/06/huntington-ingalls-to-buy-alion-science-and-technology-in-1-65b-deal

Navy Takes Delivery of Sea Hawk Unmanned Vessel

Seahawk USV. Leidos Image

A second medium-sized unmanned surface vessel prototype has delivered to the Navy, builder Leidos announced this week.

Sea Hawk, sister ship to the Navy’s Sea Hunter, was built on the Gulf Coast and is now bound to join the Navy’s Surface Development Squadron One in California, the company said in a Wednesday press release.

In 2017, the Office of Naval research awarded Leidos a $35.5 million contract to build the 145-ton trimaran as a follow-up to the original L3-built...

https://news.usni.org/2021/04/08/navy-takes-delivery-of-sea-hawk-unmanned-vessel

Document: Department of the Navy Unmanned Campaign Framework

The following is the March 16, 2021, Department of the Navy Unmanned Campaign Framework.

From the report

The National Defense Strategy (NDS) defines “the central challenge to U.S. prosperity and security as the reemergence of long-term, strategic competition” posed by Russia and China. It emphasizes that, “America’s military has no preordained right to victory on the battlefield.” The developing abilities of nearpeer competitors drive the need for increased Naval capability distributed over a...

https://news.usni.org/2021/03/16/document-department-of-the-navy-unmanned-campaign-framework

HII Purchases Autonomy Company to Bolster Unmanned Surface Business

HII Image

Huntington Ingalls Industries has purchased a company that focuses on autonomous systems, a move that comes as the Navy pursues unmanned and autonomous platforms for the fleet.

In a news release, HII announced on Monday that it had completed the deal to buy Spatial Integrated Systems Inc. on the last day of 2020.

“SIS is a leader in autonomous technology, and this acquisition adds significant breadth to our unmanned systems solutions,” HII Technical Solutions Unmanned Systems business...

https://news.usni.org/2021/01/04/hii-purchases-autonomy-company-to-bolster-unmanned-surface-business

Top Stories 2020: U.S. Navy Acquisition

Attack boat Vermont (SSN-792) float-off on March 29, 2019. General Dynamics Electric Boats Photo

This post is part of a series of stories looking back at the top naval news from 2020.

2020 may be among the most consequential years for Navy acquisition in recent memory, with the service making big moves in support of its Distributed Maritime Operations operating concept.

2020 was the year the Navy officially started construction on the Columbia-class ballistic missile submarine program, a massive...

https://news.usni.org/2020/12/25/top-stories-2020-u-s-navy-acquisition

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