The Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) recently released a Request For Information notice on the Large Unmanned Surface Vessel (LUSV).
According to the announcement released on Friday, the US Navy is seeking industry feedback on draft Ship Specifications for the LUSV, along with answering a set of technical questions posted in the Bidder’s Library.
The RFI indicates that the Navy might be on track to release a Request For Proposal (RFP) for Detailed Design and Construction (DD&C) of the LUSV in the second quarter of 2024. On September 4th, 2020, NAVSEA awarded concept refinement and design specification study contracts to Huntington Ingalls, Lockheed Martin Corp, Bollinger Shipyards Lockport, Marinette Marine, Gibbs & Cox Inc, and Austal USA.
On the 29th of July, 2022, the Navy awarded contract modifications to the six contracts above. These modifications also extended the work to September of 2024.
In a statement to USNI News, a Navy spokesperson stated that “These contracts were established in order to refine specifications and requirements for a Large Unmanned Surface Vessel and conduct reliability studies informed by industry partners with potential solutions prior to release of a Detail Design and Construction contract,”
The US Navy currently operates four Ghost Fleet unmanned surface vessel prototypes as technology demonstrators. These vessels are used for the de-risking and maturation of key enablers of the Navy’s USV development effort.
About the Large Unmanned Surface Vessel (LUSV)
The Large Unmanned Surface Vessel (LUSV) will be a class of optionally or lightly manned vessels that are between 200 to 300 ft in length and 1,000 to 2,000 tons in displacement.
According to the US Navy’s latest budget documents, the vessels will, “support Distributed Maritime Operations (DMO) and provide the Joint Force with an adjunct missile magazine capability and capacity.”
The vessels will be equipped with missile launchers to carry out their primary mission, which centers around Anti-Surface Warfare (ASuW) and Strike Warfare (STW).
They will operate aggregated with Carrier Strike Groups (CSG), Expeditionary Strike Groups (ESG), Surface Action Groups (SAG), and individual manned combatants. Where their extra missiles will act as adjunct magazines.
The US Navy plans to buy the first LUSV in FY2025 with the Future Years Defense Program calling for the service to buy nine LUSVs by FY28.
The US Navy expects to finish the Capabilities Development Document (CDD) for the LUSV by the end of this year. The document defines specific requirements for the vessels and its completion is a prerequisite to moving forward with the DD&C process.
