Tag Archives: Program Executive Office for Unmanned and Small Combatants

Navy Taps One-Star To Drive LCS Program Improvements

Navy Taps One-Star To Drive LCS Program Improvements

Information Specialist 1st Class Matthew Stephenson mans the lines as the Freedom-variant littoral combat ship USS Sioux City (LCS-11) gets underway on Aug. 30, 2020. US Navy Photo

The Navy has installed a one-star admiral to oversee a task force focused on refining the employment, maintenance and reliability of the Littoral Combat Ship program, the service announced today. Read More

Navy Developing Land-Based Unmanned Vehicle Testing Sites as Early Design Work Continues

Navy Developing Land-Based Unmanned Vehicle Testing Sites as Early Design Work Continues

Medium Displacement Unmanned Surface Vehicle (MDUSV) prototype Sea Hunter pulls into Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii on Oct. 31, 2018. US Navy Photo

The Navy is making arrangements for land-based testing of its Medium Unmanned Surface Vessel prototype and eyeing similar plans for its Large USV, as the sea service tries to get Congress on board with its plans to rapidly field unmanned vehicles in all domains to create a hybrid manned-unmanned force. Read More

Navy Hopes to Deploy its Early Razorback UUVs Soon Even As Development Continues on Updated Capability

Navy Hopes to Deploy its Early Razorback UUVs Soon Even As Development Continues on Updated Capability

Operations Specialist First Class Sean McNamara launches the Mk 18 Mod 2 Kingfish for an initial underwater survey of Sweeper Cove on Adak Island in the Alaska’s Aleutian chain. EODMU 1 is providing expeditionary mine countermeasures support in support of Arctic Expeditionary Capabilities Exercise 2019. EODMU 1 provides operational EOD capabilities to include locating, identifying, rendering safe, exploiting, recovering, and disposing of all explosive ordnance. US Navy photo

The Navy plans to deploy the early models of its Razorback medium-sized unmanned underwater “as soon as we can” even as the service is in the midst of procuring an upgraded model. Read More

Navy Working on Better Maintainability, Self-Sufficiency for LCS and Rest of Surface Fleet

Navy Working on Better Maintainability, Self-Sufficiency for LCS and Rest of Surface Fleet

The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) training ships JS Kashima (TV 3508), left, and JS Shimayuki (TV 3513), right, sail alongside the Independence-variant littoral combat ship USS Gabrielle Giffords (LCS-10) during an exercise, June 23, 2020. US Navy Photo

Navy officials in Washington and on the waterfront are trying to help the Littoral Combat Ships grow more reliable and maintainable, amid a surface navy-wide effort to focus on crew-level maintenance as a means of improving operational availability. Read More

Navy Releases Final RFP for Large Displacement Unmanned Underwater Vehicle Program

Navy Releases Final RFP for Large Displacement Unmanned Underwater Vehicle Program

A surrogate Large Displacement Unmanned Undersea Vehicle (LDUUV) is submerged in the water in preparation for a test to demonstrate the capability of the Navy’s Common Control System (CCS) at the Naval Undersea Warfare Center Keyport in Puget Sound, Wash. in December 2015. US Navy Photo.

The Navy released the final request for proposals (RFP) for its Snakehead Large Displacement Unmanned Underwater Vehicle (LDUUV) Phase 2 program, the largest of its submarine-launched unmanned systems. Read More

Naval Surface Forces Kicks Off Follow-On LCS Study To Refine Maintenance, Reliability Issues

Naval Surface Forces Kicks Off Follow-On LCS Study To Refine Maintenance, Reliability Issues

Gunners Mate 2nd Class Casey Nice lubricates the MK 50 Modular Weapons System aboard the Freedom-class littoral combat ship USS Detroit (LCS 7) on Sept. 10, 2020. Detroit is deployed to the U.S. Southern Command area of responsibility to support Joint Interagency Task Force South’s mission, which includes counter illicit drug trafficking in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific. US Navy photo.

The Navy kicked off another study of the Littoral Combat Ship that is meant to follow up on the major 2016 study that reshaped how the LCS fleet is manned, trained and operated. Read More