Medium Unmanned Surface Vehicle (MUSV) RFP

The Future Surface Combatant Force (FSCF) effort includes manned surface combatants, Large Unmanned Surface Vessels (LUSV), and Medium Unmanned Surface Vehicles (MUSV).  This Prototyping Plan addresses only MUSV efforts.

On 05 March 2019, Program Executive Officer Unmanned and Small Combatants (PEO USC) approved an Acquisition Decision Memorandum (ADM) which designated MUSV as a rapid prototyping project carried out under the authority of Section 804 of the Fiscal Year (FY) 2016 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), as amended in FY 17 NDAA (codified at 10 United States Code (U.S.C.) § 2302 note).  Section 804 authorizes a middle tier acquisition pathway, separate from the traditional acquisition system, for rapid prototyping projects and rapid fielding programs to acquire new or improved capabilities.  Rapid prototyping projects are excluded from the Major Defense Acquisition Program (MDAP) definition in 10 U.S.C. § 243 and, therefore, exempt from complying with the MDAP requirements set forth in 10 U.S.C. Chapter 144.  Similarly, rapid prototyping projects are not subject to the Joint Capabilities Integration Development System (JCIDS) or Department of Defense (DoD) Instruction 5000.02 policies and procedures. 

Under Section 804 authority, and as the MUSV Acquisition Decision Authority (ADA), PEO USC assigned responsibility for the MUSV rapid prototyping project to Program Manager, Unmanned Maritime Systems (PMS 406).  As part of the FSCF, the MUSV project provides resources for the detailed design, fabrication, and testing of the MUSV.  MUSVs provide low cost, high endurance, reconfigurable ships able to accommodate various payloads for unmanned missions and augment the Navy’s manned surface force.  MUSV will be required to have a reconfigurable, single mission capability which is accomplished via containerized payloads.  MUSVs will provide additional Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) and Electronic Warfare (EW) capabilities to the fleet. 

MUSVs will be developed at a lower cost relative to manned platforms of similar capability to support the Navy’s ability to produce, deploy, and disperse a proliferation of platforms capable of distributing a sensing network over a large area of operations.  MUSVs will be sufficiently affordable assets that are risk-worthy if used in the prosecution of a peer or near-peer conflict.  Initially, MUSVs will operate semi-autonomously with operators in or on the loop.  As the Navy gains experience with USV operations, MUSVs will operate increasingly in an autonomous mode, with less operator interaction.  USV Command and Control (C2) will be maintained via an afloat element (i.e., embarked on a United States Navy (USN) combatant/support ship), or via an ashore element (C2 station ashore).  MUSVs will be capable of weeks’-long deployments and trans-oceanic transits, and may operate with Carrier Strike Groups (CSGs) and Surface Action Groups (SAGs), as well as have the ability to deploy independently.

These MUSVs will be fielded/deployed in operationally relevant environments.  Information obtained during employment of MUSV will be used to analyze and assess at-sea performance and reliability.  At-sea performance data will inform decisions for follow-on designs, improvements, and the transition of the rapid prototyping project to a rapid fielding project or to an acquisition category (ACAT) program. 

The MUSV acquisition approach includes full and open competition for award of the MUSV design and fabrication solicitation to one contractor.  The MUSV contract’s Period of Performance (PoP) is FY19 through FY24.  Within this PoP, the President’s Budget (PB) FY 2020 (PB-20) funded procurements under this contract include one (1) MUSV in FY19 and (1) MUSV in FY23.  The contract strategy will provide the flexibility via contract options to procure additional MUSVs, if funded.  The Navy contemplates a follow-on competitive production contract to address MUSV procurements in FY24 and beyond based on the technical data package (TDP) developed from the MUSV rapid prototyping effort.  The FSCF Analysis of Alternatives (AoA) is in progress, which will inform the appropriate mix of quantities among Large Surface Combatants (LSC), Small Surface Combatants (SSC), Large USV, and MUSVs.  The FSCF AoA will inform the total quantity of MUSVs required to address fleet capability and capacity gaps.