A US Navy medium unmanned surface vessel (MUSV) has deployed to the Pacific with the USS Theodore Roosevelt carrier strike group, the platform's first operational deployment, Military Times reported on 29 October. The Navy operates four MUSVs as former test beds, selected three companies in September to build 30 more and expects the first formal delivery by the end of fiscal 2027. Vice Chief of Naval Operations Admiral James Kilby said he is 'not satisfied' with the service's readiness to receive unmanned systems and asked for help with force development and employment planning.
From test bed to part of a strike group
Navy Secretary Hung Cao confirmed the deployment on 16 October and called the MUSV a 'force multiplier'. Its stated roles are intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, carriage of modular weapons and persistent forward presence. The programme was restructured about six months ago and tied to the 'Golden Fleet' concept. The first operational deployment marks the move from accumulating experience on test craft to folding the vessels into fleet organisation and certification procedures. The 30-vessel build by the three companies selected in September is the first production stage in which operating experience from the four test craft feeds into design requirements.
The Vice Chief's testimony on readiness to receive
Testifying to the National Commission on the Future of the Navy on 8 October, Admiral Kilby said MUSV deployments could become part of ship certification exercises, that the Navy holds man, train and equip responsibilities for unmanned systems, and that he was not satisfied with its readiness to receive them. He asked for help with force development, employment and a sustainable plan, signalling that the institutions for operating and sustaining the craft lag behind their procurement.
A tactics-development centre modelled on TOPGUN
The Navy has established a Robotic and Autonomous Systems Warfighting Development Center at Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek–Fort Story, modelled on the TOPGUN fighter-pilot school, to develop tactics and train personnel for unmanned systems. With a centre for people and doctrine now in place alongside the 30-vessel build, the question is whether the operating institutions can be ready by the start of deliveries in fiscal 2027. The centre is positioned as the hub for unmanned-systems tactics development, and the scale and timing of its training output will shape how far the plan is realised.
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AI & Security Observatory（2026-10-29）「米海軍、中型無人水上艇を初めて実戦配備 副作戦部長は受け入れ態勢に「満足していない」、30隻は2027年度から納入」『AI & Security Observatory』、第1.0版、最終更新2026-10-30。https://ai-security-observatory.org/ja/brief/brief-20261030-06/
AI & Security Observatory (2026-10-29). US Navy's medium unmanned surface vessel makes its first operational deployment as the Vice Chief says he is 'not satisfied' with readiness to receive them; 30-boat buy delivers from FY2027 . AI & Security Observatory, version 1.0. Updated 2026-10-30. https://ai-security-observatory.org/en/brief/brief-20261030-06/
Version 1.0 · Publication date 29 Oct 2026 · Updated 30 Oct 2026
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