Textron Systems Corporation has been awarded a contract by the Defense Innovation Unit to provide Tsunami Uncrewed Surface Vessels (USVs) for upcoming U.S. Navy and SOUTHCOM operations.
The contract involves the production and delivery of multiple Tsunami interceptor vessels, which are scheduled to participate in the U.S. Navy Fleet Experimentation (FLEX) exercise in Key West, Florida. Following the exercise, the assets will support three months of joint operations with SOUTHCOM and the U.S. Navy Fourth Fleet.
During the FLEX exercise, Textron Systems will provide the long-dwell USVs alongside Field Service Representatives to demonstrate cooperative intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, and targeting. This testing will involve the Aerosonde 4.7 VTOL UAS operating from a Littoral Combat Ship and will also feature manned-unmanned surface warfare integration with Invariant Corporation’s Surface-to-Air Kinetic Engagement system.
The Tsunami family of autonomous vessels is designed to provide the U.S. Navy and its allies with a versatile portfolio of multi-mission uncrewed assets. These vessels utilize Brunswick Corporation’s high-performance hulls integrated with the Textron Systems CUSV vessel-based autonomy control system. This approach leverages mature commercial technologies to enable immediate scale and increased operational capacity.
Ryan Schaffernocker, Senior Vice President Air, Land and Sea Systems, said, “The TSUNAMI family of vehicles leverage Textron Systems’ decades of expertise in autonomous systems innovation, coupled with the speed and scalability of Brunswick Corporation’s established and globally sustainable production line of vessels. This award establishes a partnership foundation for TSUNAMI USV government-owned, contractor-operated (GOCO) and contractor-owned, contractor-operated (COCO) services, allowing for rapid deployment with a lower cost of ownership for the Navy.”
Textron Systems developed the CUSV, which serves as the Mine Countermeasure USV for the U.S. Navy Unmanned Influence Sweep System program of record. The company recently introduced the Multi Mission USV, representing the fifth generation of the CUSV craft designed to expand advanced mission capabilities for the fleet.
