Weaponizing CUSV for SW role

The Navy wants to add on a number of Common Unmanned Surface Vehicle (CUSV) anti-surface weapons that to date have only been used as a passive platform for the Littoral Combat Ship’s mine-countermeasures warfare package. On Jan. 9, Naval Sea Systems Command and Textron announced they have entered into a study agreement to weaponize the CUSV for a surface warfare (SW) role. In a statement from Textron indicated that NAVSEA had signed a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with the company “to develop and integrate surface warfare payloads” onto the CUSV. Payloads are to include various missiles, designators, sensors, and remote weapon stations. Initially, CUSV was developed as part of the Littoral Combat Ship’s (LCS) mine-countermeasure warfare package to tow the Unmanned Influence Sweep System. UISS is designed to emit signals that would cause mines triggered by sound or electromagnetic signatures to detonate. Based on the news release, it is unclear the types of weapons the CUSV could field. The Navy will use a vertically launched AGM-114L Longbow Hellfire missile for its Littoral Combat Ships' surface warfare mission package. (Source: USNI News 01/09/18) Gulf Coast Note: Textron and Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City, Fla., have been working on the LCS mine-countermeasures warfare package for years.