US Navy to Build Unmanned Patrol Ships by Next Year

[Researcher Seokchan An, Command Reconnaissance Research Team 2, Defense Agency for Technology and Quality] The U.S. Navy has decided to produce the Unmanned Influence Sweep System (UISS) to support Littoral Combat Ships (LCS). UISS is one of the mine detection systems that assist LCS in performing mine warfare and mine countermeasure missions. UISS targets acoustic, magnetic, and combined magnetic-acoustic mines.

The U.S. Naval Sea Systems Command announced that the Low-Rate Initial Production (LRIP) of the UISS unmanned patrol vessel will be handled by Textron Systems Corp, located in Maryland. The contract value is $21.8 million.

Low-Rate Initial Production refers to the initial limited production phase of military weapons and platforms. LRIP allows the Navy to determine whether the UISS meets the required performance criteria before signing a full-rate production contract.

Textron’s Common Unmanned Surface Vehicle (CUSV) operates submerged below the surface and is deployed on LCS to detect, precisely locate, and neutralize naval mines that threaten surface combatants and commercial vessels. This system consists of the CUSV unmanned powered boat. The manned surface vessels operating this system maintain a safe distance to avoid damage in case of mine detonation.

UISS uses the Multi-Variable Communication System (MVCS) installed on the Navy’s LCS. This communication system includes mine countermeasure, anti-submarine warfare, and surface warfare packages, encompassing both LCS and UISS. The Navy employs the AB3100H embedded computer for MVCS. The AB3000 series computers come with factory-installed PCI Mezzanine Card (PMC) modules, enabling the addition of Ethernet switches, synchronous and asynchronous serial interfaces, and IDT relays.

Textron’s CUSV and unmanned maritime command and control units utilize a modular architecture that accommodates platform reconfiguration and interchangeable payloads. The CUSV can perform mine warfare, anti-submarine warfare, communication relay, intelligence surveillance reconnaissance, surface warfare, and unmanned aerial system (UAS)/unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) launch and recovery missions. Textron plans to manufacture these systems in Hunt Valley, Maryland, and Slidell, Louisiana, with prototypes scheduled for completion by August next year.