Saronic Technologies has secured a U.S. Navy production award for 10 Medium Unmanned Surface Vessels following the completion of Phase I at-sea testing.
HII and Galliano Marine Service also received production awards for 10 vessels each, bringing the planned procurement under the program to 30 MUSVs. The awards were issued through Production Other Transaction Authority agreements.
The Navy said the average procurement cost is $40 million per vessel. The first vessels are scheduled to be delivered before the end of Fiscal Year 2027.
Production is set to begin at shipyards in Franklin, Loreauville and Houma, Louisiana. Saronic will build its vessels in Franklin, while the other two suppliers will use yards elsewhere in the state.
The Phase I requirements called for vessels capable of travelling 2,500 nautical miles at 25 knots in Sea State 4 while carrying payloads of up to 25 tonnes across at least two 40-foot shipping containers.
USNI News reported that the at-sea evaluation also required participants to operate for about 26 hours over more than 360 nautical miles with only one input from a command-and-control station during that period. The test was intended to demonstrate sustained autonomous operation with minimal operator intervention.
The Navy said Phase I testing assessed capabilities including awareness of the surrounding maritime environment, autonomous navigation in accordance with collision-prevention rules and performance during long-duration missions.
Separately, Saronic reported that Marauder completed eight days of continuous operations covering more than 140 test scenarios. The trials included autonomous tracking and maneuvering around other vessels as well as passive-perception testing using onboard sensors.
The production award moves Saronic from the prototype evaluation stage into the next phase of the Navy’s MUSV procurement, alongside HII and Galliano Marine Service.
