MEDIUM UNMANNED SURFACE VEHICLES (MUSVs)
Abstract
Projects under this Program Element provide resources for the unmanned platforms in the Navy's Future Surface Combatant Force (FSCF), Medium Unmanned Surface Vehicle (MUSV), Sea Hunter, and Seahawk. No Manning Required Ship (NOMARS) is also planned to transition from DARPA to PMS406 in FY 2025, which will be vital in the technology development and risk reduction efforts to support the MUSV PoR. MUSV is defined as having a reconfigurable mission capability which is accomplished via modular payloads with an initial capability to support Battlespace Awareness through supporting Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance, and Targeting (ISR-&T), Counter-ISR&T, and Information Operations (IO) mission areas. MUSVs provide affordable, high endurance, reconfigurable ships able to accommodate various payloads for unmanned missions and augment the Navy's manned surface force. MUSVs will be capable of autonomous operation, with operators' in-the-loop or on-the-loop, as required. USV Command and Control (C2) will be maintained via an afloat element (i.e., embarked on a United States Navy (USN) combatant/other assigned afloat asset) or via an ashore element (C2 station ashore). While unmanned surface vehicles are new additions to fleet units, MUSV is intended to combine robust and proven commercial vessel specifications with existing military payloads to rapidly and affordably expand the capacity and capability of the surface fleet. The MUSV program leverages years of investment and full scale demonstration efforts in autonomy, endurance, command and control, payloads, and testing from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Anti-Submarine Warfare Continuous Trail Unmanned Vessel (ACTUV), Office of Naval Research (ONR) Medium Displacement Unmanned Surface Vehicle (MDUSV)/Sea Hunter (FY 2017 to FY 2021), and Office of the Secretary of Defense Strategic Capabilities Office (OSD SCO) Ghost Fleet Overlord Large USV experimentation effort (FY 2018 to FY 2021). The combination of fleet-ready C2 solutions developed by the Ghost Fleet Overlord program and initial man-in-the-loop or man-on-the-loop control will reduce the risk of fleet integration of unmanned surface vehicles and allow autonomy and payload technologies to develop in parallel with fielding vehicles with standardized interfaces. Small Unmanned Surface Vehicle (sUSV) Family of Systems is designed to meet an urgent Geographic Combatant Command Requirement leveraging technologies developed by MUSV. sUSV is an inexpensive Maritime capability leveraging the best of commercial technology and innovations at speed and scale.
Document Details
- Document Type
- R2 Budgetary Justification
- Publication Date
- Oct 01, 2025
- Source ID
- 0605512N_4_1319_PB_2025
- Change Summary Explanation
- Program Change: Technical: Not applicable Schedule: Not applicable Cost: FY 2023: -$2.418M SBIR/STTR/FTT Assessment (SBIR) FY 2024: No Change FY 2025: $2.451M sUSV increase.
- Service Agency Name
- Navy
Entities
Organizations
- United States Navy
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