First Vehicle Continues Extensive Testing
Textron Systems Unmanned Systems announced on 3 April that it has received a $14.8 million contract for two additional Common Unmanned Surface Vessels (CUSV) intended for the US Navy’s (USN) Unmanned Influence Sweep System (UISS), part of the service’s comprehensive Mine Counter Measure Unmanned Surface Vehicle (MCM USV) mission, which includes mine-hunting and potentially mine-neutralisation, as well as mine-sweeping.
The CUSV is a multi-mission unmanned surface vehicle, capable of carrying multiple payloads, including side-scan sonar, mine neutralisation, nonlethal weapons and ISR sensors. Since its first demonstration in 2009, it has successfully completed several exercises with the USN and has to date amassed more than 2,000 on-water operational hours.
These two additional vessels, which are expected to be delivered in 2018, will join the USN’s first CUSV , which recently completed initial testing in Louisiana and is currently undergoing additional testing off of the east coast of the US.
“We are pleased to see the U.S. Navy’s request for two additional vessels to support their mine countermeasure mission and are excited to be a part of the growing adoption of unmanned technologies in support of the US Navy’s mission to safely secure our waters,” Vice President of Control & Surface Systems Wayne Prender, said,
“The inherent modularity that CUSV provides will enable the US Navy to complete both mine-sweeping and mine-hunting missions from a single craft, demonstrating the CUSV system’s multi-mission capabilities and large, configurable payload bay,” Wayne Prender, Textron’s VP of Control & Surface Systems, observed.