U.S. Navy Buys 30 Unmanned Surface Vessels to Expand Autonomous Operations Across Contested.

The U.S. Navy ordered 30 Medium Unmanned Surface Vessels from three shipbuilders after completing Phase I at-sea testing. The procurement moves the MUSV program toward fleet use while expanding a modular autonomous force designed for distributed maritime operations.

Galliano Marine Services, HII and Saronic Technologies will each build ten MUSVs at an average cost of about $40 million per vessel, with HII supplying vessels from its ROMULUS family and Saronic advancing its Marauder design, while Galliano’s exact configuration has not been publicly identified. Phase I required 2,500 nautical miles at 25 knots in sea state 4 and included a 26-hour autonomous run over more than 360 nautical miles with only one permitted command-and-control intervention, while Phase II will broaden competition and modular payload options.

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Saronic’s Marauder Medium Unmanned Surface Vessel underway; Saronic will build ten MUSVs under the U.S. Navy’s 30-vessel procurement(Picture source: Saronic)

The agreements use Other Transaction Authority mechanisms intended to shorten the transition from prototype testing to production. The Navy puts the average procurement cost at about $40 million per vessel, placing the 30-unit acquisition at roughly $1.2 billion. Production is set to begin immediately at shipyards in Loreauville, Houma, and Franklin, Louisiana, giving the program several parallel manufacturing paths while preserving competition for later orders.

According to the U.S. Navy announcement issued on September 29, 2026, Galliano Marine Services, HII, and Saronic received production agreements after completing Phase I at-sea testing. HII has identified its ten-vessel award as part of the ROMULUS unmanned surface vessel family, which uses the company's Odyssey autonomous control architecture. Saronic advanced its Marauder MUSV design through the competition and will also build ten vessels. Galliano Marine Services, which also operates as Edison Chouest, will produce the remaining ten, although the exact configuration associated with its award has not been publicly identified.

The three approaches are not identical. HII is already building ROMULUS 151 vessels through a Louisiana production network that includes Breaux Brothers and Halimar Shipyard. The ROMULUS architecture uses Odyssey to support perception, navigation, onboard system management and coordination with other crewed and uncrewed assets. During Navy-monitored MUSV testing, HII reported completing a 420-nautical-mile mission over 28 hours. Saronic's Marauder measures about 180 feet, or 55 meters, reaches more than 25 knots, and has a stated maximum payload capacity of 150 metric tons. Its modular arrangement can accommodate four 40-foot or eight 20-foot ISO containers.

Phase I requirements provide a common baseline for what the Navy expected from competitors. Vessels had to travel 2,500 nautical miles at 25 knots in sea state 4 while carrying up to 25 metric tons of payload across at least two 40-foot shipping containers. These figures were competition thresholds rather than guaranteed specifications for every production vessel. They nevertheless place the MUSV concept in a category intended for sustained offshore operations rather than the shorter-range missions associated with smaller unmanned surface craft.

The autonomy evaluation was one of the central elements of the trials. Competitors were required to operate for approximately 26 hours across more than 360 nautical miles with only one intervention permitted from a command-and-control station. Testing also examined the vessels' ability to perceive their maritime surroundings and navigate autonomously in accordance with international collision-avoidance regulations. The requirement was intended to demonstrate that an MUSV could remain underway for more than a day over an extended distance while requiring minimal direct operator input.

The Navy is already opening Phase II to a wider range of vessels and payload combinations. Revised requirements allow designs up to 295 feet, or roughly 90 meters, with at least ten days of unmanned operation and survivability in sea state 6. The high-speed and at-sea refueling requirements imposed during the first phase have been removed, giving manufacturers more freedom to balance endurance, payload capacity, speed, and cost. Testing is expected to begin as early as November 16, 2026, with proposals assessed on a rolling basis over the following five years.

This modular approach is also reflected in the structure established by the Direct Reporting Program Manager for Robotic and Autonomous Systems. RAS 3.0 assigns surface autonomous systems to strike, non-kinetic, and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions. The wider framework separates mission payloads, including electronic warfare systems, kinetic capabilities and mines, from host integration involving ships and containers. The MUSV can therefore be configured around different mission packages without requiring every vessel to carry the same equipment permanently.

Recent exercises show how the Navy is already moving unmanned surface systems into operationally relevant tasks, although the vessels involved were not the 30 MUSVs covered by this award. During RIMPAC 2026, U.S. Navy unmanned surface vessels participated in a sinking exercise against the decommissioned USS Peleliu, while another unmanned vessel maneuvered into the well deck of USS Essex to deliver additively manufactured supplies. A Saildrone Surveyor also operated from Pearl Harbor during the exercise as part of the Navy's effort to connect unmanned sensors with a wider multinational force. These activities provide concrete examples of the roles that larger autonomous vessels may eventually support, including remote sensing, logistics and operations alongside crewed warships.

The procurement also comes as unmanned systems are being exercised within a broader network of U.S. allies and partners in the Pacific. RIMPAC 2026 brought together 30 nations, including Australia, Japan, the Philippines, South Korea and several European navies, with Japanese, South Korean, Canadian and Chilean officers holding senior positions in the combined force structure. The exercise included both unmanned vessel operations and live-fire maritime training, placing autonomous systems inside an established multinational naval framework rather than testing them only in isolated U.S. demonstrations. The Navy has not announced where the 30 new MUSVs will eventually be assigned, but their procurement follows a year in which autonomous surface systems were already operating alongside allied fleets during the largest multinational naval exercise in the Pacific.

Written By Erwan Halna du Fretay - Defense Analyst, Army Recognition Group
Erwan Halna du Fretay holds a Master’s degree in International Relations and has experience studying conflicts and global arms transfers. His research interests include security and strategic studies, particularly the dynamics of the defense industry, the evolution of military technologies, and the strategic transformation of armed forces.