US Navy christens new unmanned surface vessel

The US Navy christened its newest unmanned surface vessel (USV) during a recent ceremony in Mobile, Alabama.

Built jointly by Austal USA and L3Harris Technologies, Vanguard is the US Navy’s first USV purpose-built from the keel up for unmanned operations and is part of the Overlord program sponsored by the US Department of Defense.

The Overlord effort launched the US Navy’s experimentation with USVs and the resulting prototypes now fulfill a vital role in preparing the fleet to adopt USVs in operations. The navy said the knowledge and experience gained from the program is driving the development and requirements for the service’s future Large USV (LUSV) program.

LUSVs are being developed to be low-cost, high-endurance, modular USVs that can employ a variety of payloads.

Once outfitting and testing is complete, Vanguard will transit to San Diego and join sister ships Mariner and Ranger as part of the navy’s Unmanned Surface Vessel Division One (USVDIVONE), responsible for the tactical development of USV concepts of operations and training.