U.S. Navy and the Defense Innovation Unit select capabilities to scale small, unmanned surface vehicles
Mountain View, CA (Aug 12, 2024) — The Navy and the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) have partnered to prototype small unmanned surface vehicles (sUSV). Contracts have been awarded to a mix of mid-size, non-traditional, and venture-backed companies.
“Replicator is demonstrating from the top and across the enterprise how to deliver all kinds of capability at speed and scale,” said Deputy Secretary of Defense, Kathleen Hicks at the National Defense Industry Association 2024 Emerging Technology for Defense Conference in Washington, D.C. “What we’ve done in under 12 months can take seven-to-ten years. At the end of the day, all our efforts are conditioning DoD, Congress, and the private sector for the battlespace of the future, and the pace of change necessary to succeed.”
The announcement demonstrates how the Department of Defense is diversifying the vendor base in the maritime domain through DIU’s competitive Commercial Solutions Opening (CSO) process, which allows U.S. and international companies to pitch technologies to the Department in a fast-track process for a prototype contract.
“Selected systems promise to bring formidable capability into the larger portfolio of unmanned systems that will be vital to protecting our interests in the region,” said Commander of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, Navy Adm. Samuel J. Paparo. “This is an important step in augmenting our traditional combatant force, and providing commanders with a greater range of capabilities and employment options to increase our tactical and strategic advantage.”
DIU and the Navy have contracted with selected companies following a competitive evaluation of production capacity, vehicle performance, and autonomy capabilities of each of their sUSVs. Of particular importance, the Navy and DIU are evaluating the readiness of each prototype for high-rate production, in line with Replicator’s ambitious timelines.
“Non-traditional defense companies play an essential role in the sUSV interceptor effort,” said DIU Director Doug Beck. “This is yet another example demonstrating the Department’s growing ability to leverage leading commercial and dual-use technologies to meet critical and emerging national security needs and put capability in the hands of the warfighter, fast, while broadening the defense industrial base for the future.”
Each company’s production plans and processes will undergo an independent, third-party manufacturing readiness assessment to identify any production constraints, supply chain risks, and areas for improved readiness. The companies were selected from a highly competitive field of more than 100 applicants that responded to DIU’s CSO launched in January 2024.