Following successful phase one at-sea testing, the U.S. Navy has contracted three firms to build 30 Medium Unmanned Surface Vessels, marking the program's first large-scale production commitment to autonomous surface combatants.
A joint US-UK sinking exercise off Scotland's Hebrides validated SM-6, Sea Venom, and Naval Strike Missile in a sequenced multi-domain engagement, ending with an Mk 48 ADCAP torpedo delivering the terminal strike — and recording the Royal Navy's first warship live-fire of Sea Venom from a Wildcat helicopter.
The Direct Reporting Program Manager for Robotic and Autonomous Systems launched a new call for solutions and hosted an industry day on September 24, expanding an online MUSV procurement marketplace established six months earlier following the cancellation of the MASC program.
A B-2 stealth bomber successfully fired the Long-Range Anti-Ship Missile against a target vessel, while the Navy simultaneously unveiled a new glide-based torpedo program aimed at hunting enemy submarines from the air.
A formal Navy reassessment has identified commercially accessible weapons as credible threats to the fleet's most survivable nuclear deterrent assets, prompting a search for new protection methods.
