Birdon America has started work on its first group of medium unmanned surface vehicles (MUSVs) at C&C Marine & Repair’s facilities in Belle Chasse, Louisiana.
C&C Marine will build the vessels while Mythos AI will provide autonomy. Birdon will act as prime contractor, exercise design authority, and oversee systems integration.
C&C Marine President and Owner Tony Cibilich said the yard plans to produce one vessel every two months. Birdon did not disclose the number of MUSVs in the first tranche or provide delivery dates, so the planned cadence does not establish a schedule for completing the block.
Birdon said the programme combines C&C Marine’s serial production capacity with Mythos AI’s deployed autonomy technology. An April 2026 memorandum of understanding between Birdon and Mythos AI set out their joint pursuit of MUSV opportunities, with Mythos providing software for mission functions, command and control, perception and navigation.
The US Navy selected Birdon and six other companies in May to advance to at-sea testing under its MUSV marketplace initiative, as covered in Baird Maritime’s earlier report.
The navy said successful completion of the testing by a company’s MUSV would bring US$15 million, along with eligibility for follow-on production.
The navy’s initial prototype effort will focus on autonomy and vessel-performance testing under an other transaction authority pathway. Birdon’s construction announcement is separate from the navy’s testing and follow-on eligibility process.
Birdon and C&C Marine previously worked together on the US Marine Corps ancillary surface craft programme. Construction of two ASC-M vessels was under way at the same yard in 2025, and the Marine Corps technically accepted the first prototype in August 2026.