Birdon America and Mythos AI partner to pursue Navy MUSV opportunities

TTony Ardito, president, Birdon America: "Our strategy is centered on building scalable, production ready capacity for the future defense market, and selecting Mythos AI as our autonomy provider is an important part of that vision."

Birdon America has signed a memorandum of understanding with West Palm Beach, Fla.-based Mythos AI that will see the companies collaborate on the development and pursuit of Medium Unmanned Surface Vessel (MUSV) opportunities in support of emerging U.S, Navy operational and acquisition requirements.

Under the collaboration, Birdon America will contribute its maritime platform, integration, and program execution capabilities, while Mythos AI will serve as the autonomy provider, contributing autonomous navigation, perception, command and control, and mission software capabilities designed to be integrated into mission‑ready unmanned surface vessel platforms.

Back in December, Mythos AI today announced the launch of MNAV, its next generation self driving autonomy system designed specifically for unmanned surface vessels. MNAV is engineered for high speed, long range, and mission critical operations, and, says Mythos, reflects years of real world testing in major waterways supported by a large body of proprietary data..

“Birdon is focused on delivering mission-ready maritime capability for demanding defense environments,” said Tony Ardito, president at Birdon. “Our strategy is centered on building scalable, production ready capacity for the future defense market, and selecting Mythos AI as our autonomy provider is an important part of that vision. By combining expanded shipbuilding capability with advanced autonomy, we aim to offer scalable mission-capable unmanned systems for defense customers.” he said.

“This collaboration reflects the growing need for mature autonomy capabilities that can be integrated into mission ready maritime platforms for defense customers,” said Geoff Douglas, CEO of Mythos AI.. “Birdon brings deep experience in delivering maritime engineering solutions, proven program execution across the defense sector, and we are excited to work together on a solution that can support the Navy’s evolving MUSV requirements.”

The parties intend to collaborate on a vertically integrated autonomous vessel solution designed for rapid prototyping, demonstration, and transition into production of a mission-capable MUSV within this calendar year.

The collaboration is expected to focus on prototype development, demonstration activities, technical integration, production planning, and future efforts aligned with relevant U.S. Navy and broader defense opportunities.