US Navy to acquire and test uncrewed surface vessel prototypes by the end of FY2026
The new autonomous surface vessels are planned to be operationally fielded in FY2027, following the completion of on-water trials.
Graphic depicting AN/SQQ-89A in action. (Image: USN)
The USN and Royal Australian Navy (RAN) will received upgraded hardware to support development, integration, manufacture, production, and testing of the AN/SQQ-89A(V)15 anti-submarine warfare (ASW) combat system suite, the DoD announced on 9 May.
A $67.85 million contract modification from Naval Sea Systems Command will see Lockheed Martin Rotary and Mission Systems provide Technical Insertion-20 (TI-20) AN/SQQ-89A(V)15 systems plus AN/SQS-53C transmitter infrastructure shipset hardware.
Work will be completed by August 2024.
The latest announcement follows an $80.24 million modification for AN/SQQ-89A(V)15, awarded in July 2021.
AN/SQQ-89A(V)15 uses passive sonar to provide early warning of threat torpedoes. The open-architecture system requires software upgrades every two years and TI hardware upgrades every four years.
The new autonomous surface vessels are planned to be operationally fielded in FY2027, following the completion of on-water trials.
CPSP competitors are proposing platforms fitted with advanced, next-generation capabilities to be built and sustained in cooperation with the Canadian industry.
While their multibillion-dollar nuclear submarine ambitions move forward at a glacial industrial pace, all three countries are making a swifter bet: fleets of uncrewed vessels that can be built, deployed and iterated in years rather than decades.
The latest foreign military sales request from the UK has implications for the future of the programme and collaboration between the three nations.
The USCG plans to award a contract this year for the construction of Homeland Security Cutters. The new vessels will replace the 60-plus-year-old fleet of Light Icebreaking Tugs.
The expansion of the Redstone facility in Alabama will enable Raytheon to increase production of Standard Missiles in the location by 50% and support Washington in refilling stockpiles after recent operations have depleted the Pentagon’s reserves.