7OCT

US Navy buys 30 robot boats from 3 yards

2 min read

12:59UTC

The US Navy split its first production order for medium uncrewed surface vessels evenly between Galliano Marine Services, HII and Saronic Technologies, ten hulls each.

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Key takeaway

The US Navy now buys medium robot boats in production batches, scored on autonomy rather than weapons.

The US Navy moved from testing robot boats to ordering them in batches on 29 September, when it announced production awards for 30 medium uncrewed surface vessels (MUSVs), ten each from Galliano Marine Services, HII (Huntington Ingalls Industries) and Saronic Technologies⁠¹. First deliveries are due before the end of fiscal 2027. Seven companies were picked in May for the Navy's MUSV marketplace at-sea demonstrations. Three came out with hulls to build.

Christopher Miller, the Navy's acting portfolio manager for robotic and autonomous systems, said the bids were scored on autonomy performance, design, production schedule and cost⁠². Weapons were not among the criteria Miller stated. Elsewhere in the US uncrewed fleet the Pentagon is still at the design stage: in July the Defense Innovation Unit picked Kongsberg Discovery and Oceaneering only to design an extra-large uncrewed submarine.

The Navy's announcement put the average procurement cost at $40m a vessel⁠³, which would put the order near $1.2bn; that total is arithmetic on the Navy's average, not a Navy figure. The Navy used other transaction agreements, a fast prototype-to-production route outside standard contracting, and no per-yard value appeared in the reports reviewed. That route buys speed at the cost of visibility: until the Navy publishes what each yard is paid, nobody outside the programme can tell whether the three builders are being priced alike for the same hull.

Deep Analysis

In plain English

The US Navy wants ships that sail without a crew on board. A medium uncrewed surface vessel (MUSV) is a boat the size of a small patrol craft that steers itself, with people supervising from elsewhere. Until now the Navy mostly tested a few prototypes. On 29 September it paid three shipbuilders to build 30 of them, ten each. The Navy has not said what the boats will carry or do.

Deep Analysis

Root Causes

The Navy chose other transaction agreements, a contracting route built to move a tested prototype straight into production without a second competition. That is what let a May demonstration lead to a September order.

Fiscal 2027 began on 1 October 2026, so the delivery promise falls inside that first budget year. A funded year ahead lets the Navy commit three yards at once.

What could happen next?

Consequence
Three builders now hold production contracts and a delivery date, which gives suppliers of engines, sensors and autonomy software a firm customer to plan around.
Risk
Without per-yard values or stated weapons criteria, outsiders cannot tell whether the boats are patrol platforms or something more.

Source Landscape

This story draws on mixed-leaning sources from United States

United States

LeftRight

Primary parallel: In 1941 the US spread Liberty ship construction across many yards working from one standard design, so no single yard's failure could stall the programme. Splitting 30 hulls three ways applies the same logic to a new hull type.

Counter-parallel: The Littoral Combat Ship split its first order between Lockheed Martin and Austal in 2010 and then ran into cost growth. An equal three-way split does not guarantee that unit prices fall.

At the Navy's stated average of $40m a vessel, each yard carries roughly $400m of work. That per-yard sum is arithmetic on the Navy's average, and the Navy has published no per-yard value.

An average hides the spread. A yard with the most complex autonomy fit could sit well above it, and the reports reviewed do not say which.

Consensus view: The Navy's Christopher Miller says bids were scored on autonomy performance, design, production schedule and cost, and the Navy placed ten hulls with each of Galliano Marine Services, HII and Saronic Technologies.

Counter-view: The Navy's announcement puts the average procurement cost at $40m a vessel, one number across three yards. The Navy published no per-yard value, so outsiders cannot test whether the equal split tracks the scoring.

Key tension: Whether autonomy performance, which Miller lists first, or price decided how the 30 hulls were divided.

Sources:Baird Maritime·Military Times

Mentions:Medium Unmanned Surface Vessel →Littoral Combat Ship →Liberty ship →US Navy →HII →Christopher Miller →Saildrone →Defense Innovation Unit →Kongsberg →Lockheed Martin →Pentagon →Galliano Marine Services →Saronic Technologies →Oceaneering International →United States →Military Times →Austal →

First Reported In

Update #13 · US Navy orders 30 robot boats from 3 yards

Baird Maritime· 7 Oct 2026

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Different Perspectives

DNV and Fassmer

Signed a memorandum at SMM in Hamburg, announced on 10 September, to seek an approval in principle for autonomous naval vessels. DNV's Rasmus Stute said autonomy is "becoming one of the key pillars in defence".

Belgian Ministry of Defence

Awarded Exail Robotics Belgium €9.87m on 14 September, without competition, for three TRIDENT systems carrying the K-STER C mine-disposal vehicle for Ukraine. It had tendered separately in July for twelve tethered ROVs, not yet bought.

IRGC Navy (Iran)

IRGC spokesman Hossein Mohebbi said the IRGC Navy seized a US Kingfish mine-hunting vehicle in the Strait of Hormuz on 27 September, valuing it at several million dollars. US Central Command calls the claim "clearly desperate"; no verified imagery exists.

UK Defence Intelligence and Kraken

Defence Intelligence said the 12 September clash "almost certainly marks the first time" Russian and Ukrainian USVs engaged directly. Kraken meanwhile trialled an unarmed Saab radar picket boat on 5 and 6 October.

Ukrainian forces and ARX Robotics

A Ukrainian Sargan-3000 destroyed a Russian robot boat on 12 September, and the first ARX GEREON ground robots reached Ukraine on 29 September. The Sargan-3000 carries a mounted gun.

Indian Register of Shipping

Certified Accurate Industrial Controls' ISACA collision-avoidance software to IMO standards after five audited milestones and 2,500 hours of trials. The firm plans to use it converting six Indian Navy patrol boats.