Medium Unmanned Surface Vehicle (MUSV), U.S. Navy

Navy Requests Concepts for Attritable Mother Ship for Unmanned Systems​

Posted on November 21, 2022 by Richard R. Burgess, Senior Editor
The U.S. Navy has issued a Request for Information for concepts for an attritable unmanned mother ship to “cost-effectively deliver large numbers of UxVs (unmanned systems) to forward locations in a contested environment,” the published notice of the request said.
The RFI listed the following operational parameters for the AUMS:


  • Open-ocean transit distance of 1,500 nautical miles (may vary from 1,000 to 2,000 depending on cost)
  • Top speed from 12 to 20 knots
  • Survivability in Sea State 5; full mission capability in Sea State 4
  • Five days of operation without onboard human intervention
  • Support of a 20-foot container (either towed or onboard, with capability to push it over the side); upon drop off, the container will be self-sustaining
  • Be unmanned, capable of navigating via waypoints with GPS
  • Have Over-the-Horizon and Line of Site Communications.
  • Feature capability for resistance to boarding and tampering
  • Self-scuttling capability upon remote order
  • System will only traverse in the open ocean, will never operate less than three nautical miles from any shoreline untended.
  • Minimum service of the vessel would be five years, with longer service life desired if obtainable for a small cost increase
 
 
So they went from « we don’t plan to buy any MUSVs in the next 4 years » (FY24-28 Defense Program) to « just kidding, we want 7 MUSVs yesterday… uh, well within 2 years ».

Seems really well thought out.
 
I would want USVs with a ~32cell Mk41 in each, plus a helo deck for the maintainers to use. And while we're at it, let's try to make them ASW quiet for tracking subs.

Maybe a hull sonar, definitely a VDS. If affordable, both, so that you can leave the VDS set below the ~200ft thermocline and let the hull sonar listen shallow.

They need to do at least 20 knots. 30 is better, so they can keep up with carriers and get ahead of subs.
 

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