6 companies win Navy awards for continued LUSV studies

Image taken from CRS report shows where large unmanned surface vessels figure in the scale of things

As we reported earlier, the Chief of Naval Operations’ just-released released Navigation Plan 2022 sees the U.S Navy’s fleet of 2040s as including “a host of manned, unmanned and optionally-manned platforms operating under, on, and above the seas.”

The Navy is putting big bucks into researching the large unmanned surface vessel (LUSV) components of that host. On Friday, it awarded six companies contracts for “continued studies of a large unmanned surface vessel.”

Here’s who was awarded what:

• Huntington Ingalls Industries Inc., Pascagoula, Miss., was awarded a $13,071,106 firm-fixed-price modification to a previously awarded contract for continued studies of an LUSV. The contract modification includes options that, if exercised, would bring its cumulative value to $ 15,071,106. Work will be performed in Pascagoula, Mississippi, and is expected to be completed by September 2024. If all options are exercised, work will continue through September 2024.

• Lockheed Martin Corp., Baltimore, Md., has been awarded an $11,320,904 firm-fixed-price modification to a previously awarded contract for continued studies of an LUSV that includes options which, if exercised, would bring its cumulative value to $15,070,904. Work is expected to be completed by September 2024. If all options are exercised, work will continue through September 2024.

• Marinette Marine Corp., Marinette, Wis., has been awarded a $10,212,620 firm-fixed-price modification to previously awarded contract for continued studies of an LUSV Work will be performed in Marinette, Wisconsin, and is expected to be completed by September 2024.

• Bollinger Shipyards Lockport LLC, Lockport, La., has been awarded a $9,428,770 firm-fixed-price modification to previously awarded contract for continued studies of an LUSV that includes options which, if exercised, would bring its cumulative value of this contract modification to $13,958,770. Work will be performed in Lockport, Louisiana, and is expected to be completed by September 2024. If all options are exercised, work will continue through September 2024.

• Austal USA LLC, Mobile, Ala., has been awarded a $9,115,310 firm-fixed-price modification to a previously awarded contract for continued studies of an LUSV. It includes options which, if exercised, would bring its cumulative value to $13,285,309. Work will be performed in Mobile, Alabama, and is expected to be completed by September 2024. If all options are exercised, work will continue through September, 2024. ington, D.C., is the contracting activity.

• Gibbs & Cox Inc., Arlington, Va., has been awarded an $8,981,231 modification to a previously awarded contract for continued studies of a large unmanned surface vessel. It includes options which, if exercised, would bring its cumulative value $15,071,231. Work will be performed in Arlington, Virginia, and is expected to be completed by September 2024. If all options are exercised, work will continue through September 2024.

The Naval Sea Systems Command is the contracting activity for all these awards.

WHAT IS AN LUSV, ANYWAY?

So, what is the Navy’s idea of a large unmanned surface vessel? According to a Congressional Research Service (CRS) report updated July 26:

“The Navy envisions LUSVs as being 200 feet to 300 feet in length and having full load displacements of 1,000 tons to 2,000 tons, which would make them the size of a corvette. (i.e., a ship larger than a patrol craft and smaller than a frigate). The Navy wants LUSVs to be low-cost, high-endurance, reconfigurable ships with ample capacity for carrying various modular payloads—particularly anti-surface warfare (ASuW) and strike payloads, meaning principally anti-ship and land-attack missiles. Each LUSV could be equipped with a vertical launch system (VLS) with 16 to 32 missile-launching tubes. Although referred to as UVs, LUSVs might be more accurately described as optionally or lightly manned ships, because they might sometimes have a few onboard crew members, particularly in the nearer term as the Navy works out LUSV enabling technologies and operational concepts. Under the Navy’s FY2023 five-year (FY2023-FY2027) shipbuilding plan, procurement of LUSVs through the Navy’s shipbuilding account is programmed to begin in FY2025.”

• Download the CRS report