Navy seeks industry input on Medium Unmanned Surface Vehicle

By Mallory Shelbourne / October 17, 2018 at 11:02 AM

The Navy is seeking input from industry on its proposed medium unmanned surface vehicle, according to a new request for information.

"The objective of this RFI is to assess industry's ability to provide a materiel solution within an accelerated time frame at an affordable cost," the Oct. 17 notice reads.

"The Navy is seeking information to help determine the interest, technical and manufacturing capabilities, technical quality of solutions, knowledge, experience level, and qualifications of industry to meet the Government's needs to develop and build a MUSV," it continues.

The Navy in the posting said an MUSV is a vessel 12 meters to 50 meters long and should include "extended vessel range and cruising speed, and high reliability."

The service issued a series of questions for respondents to the RFI, including what ships could serve "as a basis" for the Navy's medium unmanned surface vehicle and what subsystems could satisfy the vehicle's requirements.

Respondents should also include a time line for designing the vehicle "to incorporate a defined payload," in addition to a time line for the vehicle's fabrication and testing by the contractor, the posting says.

Information is due to the Navy by Nov. 19.

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