US USVs - Unmanned Surface Vessels

Forest Green

Forest Green

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Typhoon USV Completes First-Ever At-Sea Resupply with USS Essex​

https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/2026/07/typhoon-usv-uss-essex-at-sea-resupply/
As part of the ongoing Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2026 naval exercises, a Splash Industries Typhoon Unmanned Surface Vessel (USV) successfully landed in the well deck of the Wasp-class Landing Helicopter Dock USS Essex (LHD-2), marking the first instance of a USV performing an underway replenishment for a larger, crewed vessel.
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The Typhoon itself offers a 600+ nautical mile range with the ability to loiter for extended periods of time, meaning that this resupply could have taken place over several hundred of miles of open ocean. Additionally, the Typhoon navigated and functioned autonomously throughout the mission, presenting the ability to supply cargo to vessels underway without constant operator oversight.
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Splash Industries, the manufacturer of the Typhoon also states that the vessel carries a sustained speed of 50+ knots, with Avanesov further stating that the vessel reached and maintained speeds in excess of 70 knots in testing.
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Saronic selects Texas site to build massive shipyard for crewed and uncrewed vessels​

https://insidedefense.com/daily-news/saronic-selects-texas-site- build-massive-shipyard -crewed-and-uncrewed-vessels
Defense technology company Saronic today announced its selection of a site in Brownsville, TX, to build Port Alpha, a planned "shipyard of the future" to build both unmanned and manned vessels for commercial and military customers. Saronic will break ground in 2026 on “phase one” of the yard’s construction, which will span an enormous 850-acre footprint and is expected to begin operations in 2028
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https://twitter.com/x/status/2077801200477421981
View: https://x.com/Saronic/status/2077801200477421981?s=20
 
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Probably gonna end up being pocket sized though, meant to churn out medium sized USVs. Which isn't bad, but it's not a full fat shipyard like the ones constructing destroyers or cruisers, at least that's how I took it.
 
EmoBirb said:
Probably gonna end up being pocket sized though, meant to churn out medium sized USVs. Which isn't bad, but it's not a full fat shipyard like the ones constructing destroyers or cruisers, at least that's how I took it.
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Medium and large.
…do you think this shipyard won’t expand eventually? It’s not likely going to open the up space for more frigates and destroyers in the next 5 years, but in 10-15 it could expanded to build 4-6k ton frigates (or by then that’ll probably be what we call corvette tonnage range.)
 
EmoBirb said:
Probably gonna end up being pocket sized though, meant to churn out medium sized USVs. Which isn't bad, but it's not a full fat shipyard like the ones constructing destroyers or cruisers, at least that's how I took it.
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No, they already bought a yard for that in Louisiana. Port Alpha is explicitly stated as being large enough to build ships, not just work boats (tugs, fast offshore support vessels, etc). The work boat industry in the U.S. is actually quite huge and active; Saronic just bought an existing yard for that purpose.
 
EmoBirb said:
Probably gonna end up being pocket sized though, meant to churn out medium sized USVs. Which isn't bad, but it's not a full fat shipyard like the ones constructing destroyers or cruisers, at least that's how I took it.
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Mk38 said:
Medium and large.
…do you think this shipyard won’t expand eventually? It’s not likely going to open the up space for more frigates and destroyers in the next 5 years, but in 10-15 it could expanded to build 4-6k ton frigates (or by then that’ll probably be what we call corvette tonnage range.)
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Josh_TN said:
No, they already bought a yard for that in Louisiana. Port Alpha is explicitly stated as being large enough to build ships, not just work boats (tugs, fast offshore support vessels, etc). The work boat industry in the U.S. is actually quite huge and active; Saronic just bought an existing yard for that purpose.
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The Saronic X post links to their Medium: https://medium.com/saronic-technolo...-texas-f71c15565ec6?postPublishedType=initial

The initial stage for Port Alpha in Brownsville is planned to include the ability to build ships up to 850 ft long, so roughly the same capability as Pascagoula in terms of size. The Medium post makes it sound like the yard will reach some level of usability in 2028, though I don't know if that date will be for production of 850 ft ships.
Following a year-long nationwide search evaluating sites across the East, West, and Gulf Coasts, Brownsville was selected after a rigorous review of workforce availability, infrastructure readiness, land scale, logistics, and expansion potential. Initially situated on 835 acres at the Port of Brownsville, with the opportunity to expand to nearly 4,400 acres, Port Alpha will encompass a shipyard and manufacturing facility capable of producing vessels up to 850-ft. Future site expansion could support the production of vessels over 1,200 ft. The site provides hundreds of acres of waterfront access, deepwater channel connectivity, multimodal logistics infrastructure, and room for long-term expansion — everything required to anchor a next-generation shipbuilding hub.
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I don't know what this means about their ability to actually produce US Navy designs to US Navy construction standards.


The Saronic shipyard in Franklin that built the Marauder will continue production of ships that size.
Port Alpha builds on Saronic’s expanding shipbuilding footprint. In early 2025, the company acquired a shipyard in Franklin, Louisiana, where it is investing $300 million to add 300,000 square feet of production capacity. That facility will continue producing Saronic’s 180-foot Marauder autonomous vessel, which was designed and launched in less than one year.
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I think it's insane that a company like Saronic has a valuation of $11 billion, while Huntington Ingalls Industries, with two huge shipyards, one of which is capable of building nuclear aircraft carriers and submarines, has $12 billion of assets but an overall valuation of just $14 billion.
 
850ft? They’re gunning for that battleship contract
 
DJK said:
Handy option to protect harbours and bridges. Looks like a below deck magazine.
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Probably not. Especially if they’re not giving the operators a lot of practice.

I already forgot if they mentioned caliber but it looked like a 20mm gun so unlikely to have any airbursting rounds.
Might take out one or two before being blown up or shot up, but an actual swarm would probably need 5+ to actually prevent a swarm of 6-8 from getting through.
 
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Mk38 said:
Probably not. Especially if they’re not giving the operators a lot of practice.

I already forgot if they mentioned caliber but it looked like a 20mm gun so unlikely to have any airbursting rounds.
Might take out one or two before being blown up or shot up, but an actual swarm would probably need 5+ to actually prevent a swarm of 6-8 from getting through.
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True, it just says a "remotely operated machine gun" so not hugely effective against manoeuvring UAVs. Especially if it relies on a video feed to keep the gun on target.
 
DJK said:
True, it just says a "remotely operated machine gun" so not hugely effective against manoeuvring UAVs. Especially if it relies on a video feed to keep the gun on target.
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Won’t even be particularly effective against magura/sea baby style drones either, which is what I was referring to.
 
Interesting fact that came out of the GARC test against Pelelui is that it was said to be controlled by lattice software in automation.
 
The first smaller hole right at the waterline matches up with the camera footage of impact. The charge must be a little modestly sized, though that seems like enough to flood whatever compartment is on the other side of.
 

HII Watcher Autonomous USV Passes Critical DIU Performance Tests​

https://www.navalnews.com/naval-new...us-usv-passes-critical-diu-performance-tests/
HII announced that the U.S. Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) has officially recognized the successful completion of the company’s Production-Ready, Inexpensive, Maritime Expeditionary (PRIME) prototype project, featuring the Watcher small Unmanned Surface Vessel (sUSV), which is based on HII’s ROMULUS-25 Unmanned Surface Vessel and powered by HII’s Odyssey Autonomous Control System (ACS).
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The DIU recognition follows HII’s delivery and successful sea testing of two autonomous Watcher ROMULUS-25 vessels in December 2025 under a DIU contract to develop smaller-form-factor autonomous surface vessels for the U.S. Marine Corps.
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U.S. Navy Demonstrates USV Refueling At Sea Using Robotic Towed Connector​

https://www.navalnews.com/naval-new...fueling-at-sea-using-robotic-towed-connector/
The U.S. Navy has taken a major step toward enabling persistent unmanned operations by using a robotic towed connector to repeatedly capture, refuel and release an unmanned surface vessel (USV) at sea.
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Below:
The T38 unmanned surface vessel, left, approaches a towable capture and connection device, center, towed by USNS Vindicator (TSV 5), right, during an Aug. 11 refueling demonstration off Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story, Virginia. Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division’s Blue Water Instrumentation program led the demonstration, part of an effort to keep unmanned vessels on station longer during long-range weapons testing.
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SubSea Craft Unveils Modular Payload Cassettes for MARS USV​

https://www.navalnews.com/naval-new...veils-modular-payload-cassettes-for-mars-usv/
SubSea Craft (SSC) has unveiled a new modular payload cassette system for MARS, their compact Unmanned Surface Vessel (USV), enabling the delivery of mission-configurable effects in contested environments.
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Potential payload cassettes include loitering munitions, miniature torpedoes, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), sonobuoys and other mission-specific equipment, all delivered from the same core platform.
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The payload cassette system has already supported the successful integration of the Anduril ALTIUS loitering munition, demonstrating MARS’ ability to rapidly integrate and deploy new effectors through a simple cassette exchange without modification to the vessel itself.
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Interesting. I had not heard about a specific purchase of these, though I assumed the USN had to have tested them.
 
Apparently at least five were bought last year as part of Replicator.
 
Forest Green said:

SubSea Craft Unveils Modular Payload Cassettes for MARS USV​

https://www.navalnews.com/naval-new...veils-modular-payload-cassettes-for-mars-usv/
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Designed for expeditionary operations, the new patent-pending system uses dedicated cassettes :cool:which can be installed, removed and exchanged by a two-person team whilst deployed. This allows MARS to be quickly reconfigured for different missions, reducing integration timelines and accelerating the introduction of new payloads.

The cassette system :cool:has been informed by end user engagement, supporting MARS’ ability to adapt to evolving operational requirements while maintaining a simple and deployable operating concept.

Potential payload cassettes :cool:include loitering munitions, miniature torpedoes, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), sonobuoys and other mission-specific equipment, all delivered from the same core platform.
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"Cassette" is fantastic new marketing. Refreshing from the usual - I appreciate the creative.
 
JS23 said:
At least it forestalls "is it a clip or a magazine" discussions
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I want every new combat package to have some reference to a mix tape. "Subsea Craft plans to unveil a new 'Def Leppard driving-mix' cassette for USV ops in the Strait. This follows an earlier release of 'Sounds of Silence remix' for undersea ops."
 

U.S. Special Operations Forces Tap Sea Machines for Vessel Autonomy Kits​

https://www.navalnews.com/naval-new...es-tap-sea-machines-for-vessel-autonomy-kits/
Sea Machines Robotics announced that it has secured a 5 year Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract to supply its commercial, non-developmental, TRL-9, rapidly deployable autonomy kits to US Special Operations Forces.
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https://twitter.com/x/status/2101406951024496837
View: https://x.com/CUAS_NEWS/status/2101406951024496837
 
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