The U.S. Navy is looking at the procurement of loitering munitions to equip stealthy small boats under a new program that aims to provide special operations forces with maritime strike capabilities.
A request for information released last month detailed the requirements for “Maritime Launched Effects – Increment (MLE) 1.” The War Zone first reported on the effort, which will see U.S. Special Operations Command combatant craft medium vessels field loitering munitions to enhance their strike potential. Anduril ALTIUS-700 drones are being used for the system’s prototype testing efforts.
Designed to insert U.S. Navy SEAL teams in littoral and contested environments, the combatant crafts of Naval Special Warfare are adopting to modern trends amid renewed tensions in Europe and an increasingly capable China in the Indo-Pacific region. Recent exercises in the Philippines have seen these special forces boats deploy to the Luzon Strait and near the South China Sea.
According to the Naval Sea Systems Command notice, the program seeks to provide a precision-strike ability for the special operations craft “when conventional methods cannot be employed.”
“The MLE-1 mission package is designed to be a beyond line-of-sight missile system with man-on-the-loop flight controls, multi-mode seeker, loitering, and scalable effects warhead/payload options that minimizes collateral damage,” read the notice.
The program anticipates a procurement of 128 loitering munitions between fiscal years 2030 and 2032 for the first increment. This will be the first tranche of loitering munitions to be procured under the MLE program of record. According to the notice, Increments two and three will be part of an “enduring effort to field increasingly capable and adaptable munitions to the warfighter for the foreseeable future.”
According to TWZ, the systems are set to be fitted on a future variant of the U.S. Navy’s Combatant Craft Medium (CCM) boats, known as CCM Mk2. According to solicitation documents, the CCM Mk2 will replace the in-service CCM with a high-speed, aluminum-hulled craft designed to enhance USSOCOM’s maritime capabilities. Compared to CCM, CCM Mk2 will be larger. It will incorporate advanced materials and technologies to support multi-role capabilities for maritime missions.
CCM Mk2 Key Specifications
Mobility: Configured for road and military aircraft transport.
Hull Material: High-performance aluminum.
Engines: Twin 1,600 hp marine diesels
Propulsors: Marine waterjets
Dimensions: Length 68.6 ft, Beam 14.2 ft, Draft 3.6 ft.
Fuel: Diesel, with a capacity of approximately 3,200 gallons.
While loitering munitions and similarly ranged missiles are less capable than anti-ship missiles, these short-range systems provide forces with an affordable alternative to target less capable warships, landing craft and amphibious vessels in the littorals. Taiwan has eyed the mass procurement of loitering munitions and other attack drones to deter and defeat a potential Chinese invasion.
U.S. Marine Corps writings have also advocated for similar maritime-launched effects to provide increased firepower in support of joint operations. An essay published in United States Naval Institute Proceedings highlighted the supporting potential a loitering munition-equipped unit could bring in the defense of first island chain chokepoints.
