Halter Marine teams with Gibbs & Cox on LUSV
Written by Nick Blenkey
Silhouette of Large Unmanned Surface Vessel [Image: NAVSEA]
Pascagoula, Miss., shipbuilder Halter Marine is teaming with Gibbs & Cox Inc., on a U.S. Navy contract to perform design studies for the development of the Large Unmanned Surface Vessel (LUSV). The LUSV studies contract has an anticipated completion date of August 2021 with an option for additional studies, which would extend the forecasted completion date to May 2022.
The LUSV will be a high-endurance ship able to accommodate various payloads for unmanned missions to augment the Navy’s manned surface force, according to the Navy’s program summary. Plans call for a vessel about 200 to 300 feet long that can function either partially or completely autonomously.
Halter Marine will provide shipbuilding expertise to complement the naval architecture and marine engineering of Gibbs & Cox.
”We are honored to be part of the Gibbs & Cox team participating in the Navy’s LUSV studies contract,” said Bob Merchent, president and CEO of Halter Marine. ”We are currently working together on other contracts, and I have every confidence that our team will advise and enhance the ultimate design to most effectively implement the Navy’s current mission.”
Halter Marine is also partnered with Gibbs & Cox on the Navy’s contract for industrial studies for the auxiliary general ocean surveillance ship (T-AGOS(X)) program as well as phase 1 preliminary/contract design for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s AGOR Variant (NAV).
