Delivery of the two Common Unmanned Surface Vehicles (CUSV) to US Navy expected in 2018
Earlier in April, Textron Systems Unmanned Systems, a business of Textron, announced that it has received a $14.8 million contract to provide two additional fourth-generation Common Unmanned Surface Vehicles (CUSV) for the US Navy’s (USN) Unmanned Influence Sweep System (UISS) programme.
The USN intends to use these two CUSV systems as part of their comprehensive Mine Counter Measure Unmanned Surface Vehicle (MCM USV) mission, which includes mine-hunting and potentially mine-neutralisation, as well as mine-sweeping.
“The USN is excited to continue to work with its industry partner, Textron Systems Unmanned Systems, to continue to develop, test and deliver additional capability to the fleet with the MCM USV platform and systems,” Captain Jon Rucker, Program Manager for the Navy’s Unmanned Maritime Systems Program Office (PMS 406), said. “The craft and its associated systems will provide a modular capability that will be a key component of the Navy’s future mine countermeasures efforts.”
These two additional CUSVs will join the USN’s first CUSV, which is designed for the influence sweeping mission. This UISS CUSV recently completed initial testing near Textron Systems Marine & Land Systems facility in Louisiana and is currently undergoing additional testing off of the east coast of the US.
“We are pleased to see the USN’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 USN’s mission to safely secure our waters,” Vice President of Textron Control & Surface Systems, Wayne Prender, explained. “The inherent modularity that CUSV provides will enable the U.S. 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.”
AUVSI XPONENTIAL 2017 next week in Dallas, TX/USA (more info here) is showcasing the future of innovation across unmanned systems and robotics and www.monch.com brings together key developments from the show. For more information please see MILITARY TECHNOLOGY #5/2017, available at the show; and frequently check back for more NEWS FROM THE FLOOR.