Program Executive Office for Unmanned and Small Combatants

Naval Surface Forces Kicks Off Follow-On LCS Study To Refine Maintenance, Reliability Issues

Special Warfare Combatant Craft Crewman position for recovery as the Freedom-variant littoral combat ship USS Sioux City (LCS 11) participates in a multi-lateral exercise on Sept. 13, 2020. Sioux City is deployed to the U.S. Southern Command area of responsibility to support Joint Interagency Task Force South’s mission, which includes counter illicit drug trafficking in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific. US Navy photo.

Naval Surface Force Pacific spokeswoman Cmdr. Nicole Schwegman told USNI News...

Navy Pushing to Maintain 2023 USV Program of Record Timeline

A Ghost Fleet Overlord test vessel takes part in a capstone demonstration during the conclusion of Phase I of the program in September. Two existing commercial fast supply vessels were converted into unmanned surface vessels (USVs) for Overlord testing, which will play a vital role in informing the Navy’s new classes of USVs. US Navy photo.

Several Navy program officials and resource sponsors today outlined how they’ll spend the next couple years giving Congress enough confidence in unmanned...

https://news.usni.org/2020/09/08/navy-pushing-to-maintain-2023-usv-program-of-record-timeline

Navy Autonomy Lab Would Test, Integrate Software Advances to Bring More Capability to Unmanned Fleet

A Knifefish unmanned undersea vehicle (UUV) training model undergoes crane operations aboard the Military Sealift Command expeditionary fast transport vessel USNS Spearhead (T-EPF 1) as part of a training exercise enabling mine countermeasure missions (MCM) from an EPF as a Vessel of Opportunity (VOO). Knifefish is a medium-class mine countermeasure UUV designed for deployment off the littoral combat ship in 2019. US Navy Photo

The Navy is kicking off a pilot program for an autonomy lab that...

https://news.usni.org/2020/07/28/navy-autonomy-lab-would-test-integrate-software-advances-to-bring-more-capability-to-unmanned-fleet

Program Office Maturing USVs, UUVs With Help From Industry, International Partners

A Ghost Fleet Overlord test vessel takes part in a capstone demonstration during the conclusion of Phase I of the program in September. Two existing commercial fast supply vessels were converted into unmanned surface vessels (USVs) for Overlord testing, which will play a vital role in informing the Navy’s new classes of USVs. US Navy photo.

The Navy’s transition from prototype to program of record for its portfolio of unmanned surface and undersea systems is being aided by industry,...

Navy Releases RFP for Medium Unmanned Underwater Vehicle

A Mk 18 Mod 2 Kingfish sits on a rigid-hull inflatable boat operated by an unmanned systems platoon under EOD Mobile Unit 1 out of Naval Station Point Loma, Calif., on Feb. 11, 2019. USNI News photo.

The Navy this week released a request for proposals for a Medium Unmanned Underwater Vehicle (MUUV) that is meant to streamline two existing unmanned systems into a single open architecture UUV.

The RFP is for the design, development, test, and production of the MUUV, and the Navy notes it may award...

https://news.usni.org/2020/05/22/navy-releases-rfp-for-medium-unmanned-underwater-vehicle

Navy Hosts Virtual Industry Day to Keep Hammerhead Mine on Accelerated Acquisition Path

Naval Sea Systems Command slide.

The Navy is continuing its push to develop the Hammerhead maritime mine deployment system, with 16 companies attending a recent virtual industry day that allowed the rapid-acquisition program to keep progressing despite coronavirus-related restrictions in place.

The service is pursuing an offensive mining system that would be laid by an unmanned vehicle and then lie in wait for an enemy submarine. The heart of the Hammerhead is the MK 54 lightweight torpedo as its...

https://news.usni.org/2020/04/13/navy-hosts-virtual-industry-day-to-keep-hammerhead-mine-on-accelerated-acquisition-path

Navy Budgeting $1.1B for 2nd Frigate as Timeline Slows

This post has been updated to include an additional comment by Naval Sea Systems Command.

The Navy’s second frigate will cost $1.1 billion to build, an increase over previous estimates as the shipbuilding program is being slowed down amid budget constraints and cuts to overall ship procurement plans.

Congress gave the Navy $1.3 billion in Fiscal Year 2020 to buy the lead ship, for which the Navy is still in the process of selecting a shipbuilder. Though lower than the cost of the lead ship, the...

https://news.usni.org/2020/02/14/navy-budgeting-1-1b-for-2nd-frigate-as-timeline-slows

Navy, Industry Pursuing Autonomy Software, Reliable HM&E Systems for Unmanned Ships

Medium Displacement Unmanned Surface Vehicle (MDUSV) prototype Sea Hunter pulls into Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii on Oct. 31, 2018. US Navy Photo

ARLINGTON, Va. – As the Navy moves forward with unmanned surface and undersea vessels in a range of sizes for myriad missions, some things remain constant among the vehicles: they’ll all need to continue making improvements in autonomy, they’ll all need parts that are reliable enough to go without human intervention for weeks or months at a...

https://news.usni.org/2020/01/31/navy-industry-pursuing-autonomy-software-reliable-hme-systems-for-unmanned-ships

Navy Studying Health of Surface Ship Supply Base

Expeditionary Sea Base USNS Hershel “Woody” Williams (ESB-4) under construction at General Dynamics’ NASSCO in San Diego, Calif. NASSCO photo.

ARLINGTON, Va. – The Navy wants to take a holistic look at its surface shipbuilding supply base to understand what areas are healthy and where there’s risk, similar to a previous effort done by the submarine community.

Program Executive Officer for Ships Rear Adm. Bill Galinis said earlier this month at the annual Surface Navy Association conference that...

https://news.usni.org/2020/01/29/navy-studying-health-of-surface-ship-supply-base

Unmanned Vehicle Operations, Global LCS Support Informed by Ongoing Wargaming, Prototyping

USS Indianapolis (LCS 17) sits pierside the evening before its commissioning ceremony. US Navy Photo

ARLINGTON, Va. – The Navy is conducting wargames and prototyping efforts to better understand how unmanned surface vehicles will fit into the fleet and how the Littoral Combat Ship will expand its presence around the globe.

Program Executive Officer for Unmanned and Small Combatants Rear Adm. Casey Moton this week described several efforts that look at how to maintain and sustain both types of...

https://news.usni.org/2019/11/21/unmanned-vehicle-operations-global-lcs-support-informed-by-ongoing-wargaming-prototyping

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