Navy Adopts Marketplace to Fast-Track Unmanned Surface Vessels

The U.S. Navy is replacing its earlier MASC plan with a marketplace approach to acquire Medium Unmanned Surface Vessels (MUSV) as a Family of Systems, leveraging private investment, open architectures, and multiple ownership models to speed fielding. The program seeks long-range, high-speed USVs capable of carrying containerized payloads, autonomous operation, COLREG compliance, RF-emission control, and onboard health reporting, with production or lease options and a goal of delivering five to ten vessels by FY2027. This effort builds on existing Sea Hunter/Seahawk tests and NOMARS concepts, aiming to skip extensive prototyping and move quickly to on-water testing and production.)