Exclusive: Top 2 senators urge Navy to change course on large USV program

WASHINGTON — The top two senators overseeing the Pentagon are urging the Navy’s leadership to rethink its plans for the Large Unmanned Surface Vessel (LUSV) over concerns the vessel’s size and complexity will rival that of a manned frigate, according to a letter obtained by Breaking Defense.

The senators also say the Navy should work with lawmakers to “repurpose LUSV funds” to support certain activities for the Medium Unmanned Surface Vessel program.

The LUSV is one of the Navy’s exquisite, unmanned surface vehicle programs focused on anti-surface warfare and strike warfare missions. Its requirements include being able to employ up to 32 Mk-41 Vertical Launch Cells, which is evidently driving up anxiety on Capitol Hill.

“This requirement drives the LUSV size and complexity, potentially rivaling a frigate’s displacement at 4,000 tons,” according to a Nov. 14 letter signed by Sens. Jack Reed, D-R.I. and Roger Wicker, R-Miss., who also lead the Senate Armed Services Committee. “Under current plans, the LUSV will be late to need and incur excessive concurrency, but the Navy will also have a shortfall in Mk-41 compatible missiles even to outfit all LUSVs.”

By contrast, the MUSV, which is envisioned to carry a variety of unique payloads, is envisioned to be under 500 tons displacement and no longer than 200 feet in length.

The LUSV has been a high-profile research and development program for the Navy since 2019 when it unveiled a bevy of new efforts around unmanned maritime technologies. But between congressional skepticism and other budget priorities, the vessel’s original schedule to become a program of record was delayed from 2025 to 2027 — and the senators’ letter says even the 2027 timeline may be in danger given the other challenges facing the program. The letter is addressed to Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Lisa Franchetti and Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro.

“We still believe in the need for the high-low mix of vessels in the Navy’s fleet design and commend Admiral Franchetti’s focus on robotic vessels in NAVPLAN 2024,” the letter states. “Part of the low-end of the mix is the set of autonomous and attritable capabilities being accelerated to meet INDOPACOM needs. These massed effects, however, do not solve the range of needs desired by the combatant commanders.”

Reed and Wicker urge the Navy to “repurpose” LUSV’s funding to support “MUSV, procuring additional vessels in FY 2025 and FY 2026 to host already procured payloads, and creating a path to achieve a program of record in FY 2027 for the MUSV.”

The letter is the latest bump in the road for the US Navy’s efforts to develop what it calls a future hybrid fleet, featuring both manned and unmanned warships. Programmatically, lawmakers have been skeptical of LUSV since its inception and have pressed Navy officials to explain with clarity how unmanned vessels fit into the service’s broader concepts of operation.

MUSV, as evidenced in Reed and Wicker’s letter, has received a slightly better audience on Capitol Hill following successful operations in the Indo-Pacific using vessels often referred to as the “Ghost Fleet.”

“The Medium Unmanned Surface Vessel should fill important gaps with mature technologies, validated mission needs, and producibility to deliver on expedited timelines” the senators wrote. “In all, more than 267,000 total miles have been steamed with 70 percent in autonomous mode, proving out reliability of the hull, mechanical and electrical equipment as well as demonstrating the ability to carry several mission payloads.”

Long-term changes the Navy makes to either program will likely not be seen by the public until next year when it is expected to unveil its FY26 budget request.