# MEDIUM UNMANNED SURFACE VEHICLES (MUSVs) — Program Element 0605512N

**Program element:** 0605512N  
**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/0605512N

## Summary

U.S. Navy requests $0.0M in FY2027.

## Funding profile

| Fiscal Year | Estimate Type | Amount ($M) |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | Actual | 98.9 |
| FY2026 | Enacted | 0.0 |
| FY2027 | Request | 0.0 |
| FY2028 | Outyear | 0.0 |
| FY2029 | Outyear | 0.0 |
| FY2030 | Outyear | 0.0 |
| FY2031 | Outyear | 0.0 |

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

## Projects (1)

| Project | Title | FY2025 actual | FY2026 enacted | FY2027 request | Move |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3428 | Medium Unmanned Surface Vehicle (MUSV) | 98.9 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — |

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

### Project 3428 — Medium Unmanned Surface Vehicle (MUSV)

Projects under this Program Element provide resources for the unmanned platforms in the Navy's Future Surface Combatant Force (FSCF), Medium Unmanned Surface Vehicle (MUSV) (also referred to as Modular Attack Surface Craft (MASC)), and the prototypes in the PMS 406 portfolio (Sea Hunter, Seahawk, Ranger, Mariner, Vanguard, and No Manning Required Ship (NOMARS). These vessels and prototypes are vital in the technology development and risk reduction efforts to support future USV efforts and to provide capability to the Fleet by providing platforms for employing various payloads. MUSV is defined as having a reconfigurable mission capability which is accomplished through the ability to interface with modular payloads to support various mission areas such as supporting Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance, and Targeting (ISR-&T), Counter-ISR&T, Kinetic payloads, and Information Operations (IO) mission areas. MUSVs provide affordable, high endurance, reconfigurable ships able to accommodate various payloads for unmanned missions and augment the Navy's manned surface force. MUSVs will be capable of autonomous operation, with operators in-the-loop or on-the-loop, as required. USV Command and Control (C2) will be maintained via an afloat element (i.e., embarked on a United States Navy (USN) combatant/other assigned afloat asset) or via an ashore element (C2 station ashore). While unmanned surface vehicles are new additions to fleet units, MUSV is intended to combine robust and proven commercial vessel specifications with existing military payloads to rapidly and affordably expand the capacity and capability of the surface fleet. The MUSV program leverages years of investment and full scale demonstration efforts in autonomy, endurance, command and control, payloads, and testing from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Anti-Submarine Warfare Continuous Trail Unmanned Vessel (ACTUV), Office of Naval Research (ONR) Medium Displacement Unmanned Surface Vehicle (MDUSV)/Sea Hunter (FY 2017 to FY 2021), and Office of the Secretary of Defense Strategic Capabilities Office (OSD SCO) Ghost Fleet Overlord Large USV experimentation effort (FY 2018 to FY 2021).

| Activity (R-2A) | FY2025 | FY2026 | FY2027 |
|---|---|---|---|
| MUSV Product Development | 69.8 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| MUSV Support | 21.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| MUSV Management | 7.6 | 0.0 | 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.

## Mission & acquisition strategy

Projects under this Program Element provide resources for the unmanned platforms in the Navy's Future Surface Combatant Force (FSCF), Medium Unmanned Surface Vehicle (MUSV) (also referred to as Modular Attack Surface Craft (MASC)), and the prototypes in the PMS 406 portfolio (Sea Hunter, Seahawk, Ranger, Mariner, Vanguard, and No Manning Required Ship (NOMARS). These vessels and prototypes are vital in the technology development and risk reduction efforts to support future USV efforts and to provide capability to the Fleet by providing platforms for employing various payloads.

MUSV is designated as a Rapid Prototyping Program designation and follows a Middle Tier Acquisition approach per Section 804 of the Fiscal Year (FY) 2016 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), as amended in FY 2017 NDAA (codified at 10 U.S.C. sub sec 2302 note). Required capabilities were codified in a Top-Level Requirements (TLR) document approved by the OPNAV Director of Surface Warfare in FY 2019. Delivery of the MUSV autonomy software onto OUSV 3 is planned in FY26 followed by Autonomy trials. The prototyping efforts with the MUSV hardware and software will inform decisions in preparation for development of the MASC program.

## Related program elements

- [0605513N — Unmanned Surface Vehicle Enabling Capabilities](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0605513N) (Navy)
- [0604121A — Synthetic Training Environment Refinement & Prototyping](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0604121A) (Army)
- [0604756N — Ship Self Def (Engage: Hard Kill)](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0604756N) (Navy)
- [0605057F — Next Generation Air-refueling System (NGAS)](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0605057F) (Air Force)

## Source & machine access

- **Source:** FY2027 Department of the Navy RDT&E Budget Justification, Exhibits R-2/R-3, PE 0605512N (PB PB2027).
- **MCP:** `mcp.hitchintel.com` — `budget_get_program_element(pe="0605512N")`.

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