# Surface & Shallow Water MCM — Program Element 0603502N

**Program element:** 0603502N  
**Component:** U.S. Navy  
**Appropriation:** 1319 — RDT&E, Navy  
**Budget Activity:** 4 — Advanced Component Development & Prototypes  
**Vintage:** President's Budget PB2027  
**Canonical URL:** https://hitchintel.com/programs/0603502N

## Summary

U.S. Navy requests $32.5M in FY2027 — the program's peak, before stepping down 47% across the five-year plan. In the FY2027 defense authorization, the House funded it in full; the Senate funded it in full; House appropriators funded it in full. Textron leads the industry work, though an unusually large share flows to government labs and warfare centers.

## Funding profile

| Fiscal Year | Estimate Type | Amount ($M) |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | Actual | 28.6 |
| FY2026 | Enacted | 32.4 |
| FY2027 | Request | 32.5 |
| FY2028 | Outyear | 24.6 |
| FY2029 | Outyear | 24.9 |
| FY2030 | Outyear | 16.8 |
| FY2031 | Outyear | 17.1 |

> Estimate types are not summed — the profile mixes actuals, enacted law, the request, and outyear projections.

## Congressional marks (FY2027)

| Stage | Marked ($M) | Change ($M) |
|---|---|---|
| Request | 32.5 | — |
| House NDAA (HASC) | 32.5 | +0.0 |
| Senate NDAA (SASC) | 32.5 | +0.0 |
| House Approps (HAC-D) | 32.5 | +0.0 |

> FY2027 NDAA authorization marks, as of 2026-07-27. Not appropriations or final law.

## Projects (2)

| Project | Title | FY2025 actual | FY2026 enacted | FY2027 request | Move |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1234 | Unmanned Surface Vehicle (USV) | 16.1 | 17.7 | 16.3 | −8% |
| 2989 | Barracuda | 12.5 | 14.6 | 16.2 | +10% |

> Projects are the summable leaves: the program element total is their sum, never added to it.

### Project 1234 — Unmanned Surface Vehicle (USV)

The MCM USV program consists of Unmanned Surface Vehicles (USVs) with Mine Countermeasures (MCM) payloads. The program began as the Unmanned Influence Sweep System (UISS) program which consisted of a USV paired with a magnetic and acoustic sweep capability. As the USV progressed, the Navy modified the program so the craft would integrated and operate other payloads. The UISS program was subsumed by the MCM USV Program upon successful Full Rate Production Decision Review in September, 2023. The program consists of four products: 1) The MCM USV is a semi-autonomous dual drive, 38 foot long, 10 foot wide aluminum hulled craft powered by two diesel engines. The craft contains a situational awareness and contact avoidance suite consisting of optical, radar, and GPS and is directed and monitored by the Multi Vehicle Communication System (MVCS) with a host station, such as LCS, Vessel of Opportunity (VOO), or shore site. The reconfigurable payload bay adds a modular mission capability enabling multiple payloads (mine sweep and mine hunt). The MCM USV Block 1 is a Multi-Mission USV (MMUSV) design which incorporates lessons learned into the baseline MCM USV to improve manufacturability and reduce cost of production and lead times. 2) The Mine Sweep Payload Delivery System (PDS) brings magnetic and acoustic mine influence sweep capability to the MCM USV. The PDS includes a winch, a magnetic sweep cable, and a Towed Acoustic Generator (TAG) along with capability to deploy and retrieve the towed equipment. 3) The Mine Hunt PDS brings a mine hunting capability by integrating the existing AN/AQS-20 on to the craft. This may also include the integration of other Mine Hunt PDSs in support of other sonar systems other than the AN/AQS-20 sonar, both legacy and future systems, that are needed to support the Remote Mine Hunt mission. The PDS includes a winch, cable and tow body handling equipment. 4) The Mine Neutralization PDS will neutralize mines previously identified throughout the water column using the Barracuda Mine Neutralizer. The PDS will consist of a launcher and communications gear to communicate with the neutralizer in the water. The program completed ship-based TECHEVAL and IOT&E in FY22. The program declared Initial Operational Capability in Q2FY23.

**Named R-3 performers** (share of this project's FY2027 R-3 total, so they need not reach 100%)**:** Textron (9.6, 59%).

| Activity (R-2A) | FY2025 | FY2026 | FY2027 |
|---|---|---|---|
| MCM USV Product Development | 8.4 | 15.5 | 14.4 |
| MCM USV Support | 5.7 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| MCM USV Test and Evaluation | 1.8 | 2.0 | 1.9 |
| MCM USV Management Services | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.0 |

> R-2A activities carry the prior, current and budget year only — no five-year plan. Coverage is partial, so count them, never total them.

### Project 2989 — Barracuda

FY 2027 increase corresponds with the expansion of Mine Countermeasures (MCM) capabilities. The Barracuda system is an expendable, modular, mine neutralizer launched from the MCM Unmanned Surface Vessel (USV) as part of the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) MCM Mission Package (MP) to autonomously reacquire and neutralize previously detected near-surface mines. Upon entering the water, the vehicle will conduct a search, capture an image, and use a communications buoy to send the image to the operator in the MCM MP to evaluate the image and order the weapon to fire, abort, or continue searching. Future capabilities may include launch from manned or unmanned aircraft or vessels of opportunity as well as the ability to neutralize mines in volume and on the bottom. The Barracuda detailed design and development contract includes system design, program management, systems engineering, software development, integrated product support and contractor testing.

**Named R-3 performers** (share of this project's FY2027 R-3 total, so they need not reach 100%)**:** RTX / Raytheon (2.7, 17%), OPTEVFOR (0.1, 0.5%).

| Activity (R-2A) | FY2025 | FY2026 | FY2027 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barracuda: Product Development | 10.3 | 9.9 | 10.5 |
| Barracuda: Engineering Support | 2.1 | 2.6 | 2.2 |
| Barracuda: Government Test & Evaluation | 0.0 | 2.1 | 3.4 |
| Barracuda: Management Services | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 |

> R-2A activities carry the prior, current and budget year only — no five-year plan. Coverage is partial, so count them, never total them.

## Where the FY2027 request goes

| Category | Share | $M |
|---|---|---|
| Industry primes | 38% | 12.4 |
| Government labs & warfare centers | 38% | 12.3 |
| Other / unspecified | 24% | 7.8 |

**Top named industry performers:** Textron ($9.6M, 30%), RTX / Raytheon ($2.7M, 8.3%).

> R-3 exhibit contract funding, not USAspending obligations.

## Mission & acquisition strategy

This program element provides resources for development of unmanned mine countermeasures systems to provide minehunting, minesweeping, and mine neutralization to counter known and projected mine threats. The mine countermeasures systems provide mobile, quick reaction forces capable of land-based or sea-based minehunting and minesweeping operations worldwide. Resources are for developing and deploying advanced minehunting and minesweeping systems and the intelligence and oceanographic capabilities that will enable mine warfare superiority. Tactics and techniques used vary across a diversity of environments and a diversity of threats, including both asymmetric and emerging.

UISS - Requirements are documented in the Unmanned Influence Sweep System (UISS) Capability Production Document (CPD). An Engineering and Manufacturing Development (E&MD) contract was awarded in FY14 with options for Low Rate Initial Production (LRIP) in FY19. In FY 2020, Mine Countermeasure Unmanned Surface Vehicle (MCM USV) awarded three LRIP craft with sweep payload, following a Milestone C Decision on development contract. In FY 2020-2021, MCM USV developed a Capability Production Document (CPD) Annex leveraging existing requirements (UISS, AN/AQS-20, MCM MP, etc.). In FY 2021, MCM USV craft and Minesweep Payload completed IOT&E testing, validating technical data package for production.

## Related program elements

- [0604127N — Surface Mine Countermeasures](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0604127N) (Navy)
- [0604373N — Airborne Mine Countermeasures](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0604373N) (Navy)
- [0605051A — Aircraft Survivability Development](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0605051A) (Army)
- [0708051F — Rapid Sustainment Modernization Technologies](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0708051F) (Air Force)

## Source & machine access

- **Source:** FY2027 Department of the Navy RDT&E Budget Justification, Exhibits R-2/R-3, PE 0603502N (PB PB2027); FY2027 NDAA committee marks (as of 2026-07-27).
- **MCP:** `mcp.hitchintel.com` — `budget_get_program_element(pe="0603502N")`.

*HitchAI is an independent intelligence service, not affiliated with the U.S. Department of Defense. Budget figures are requests/estimates, not obligations.*