US Navy awards contract for submarine-launched unmanned mine warfare vehicles

The US Navy has selected General Dynamics Mission Systems (GDMS) to develop a new type of expendable unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) that can be deployed from submarines.

The Mining Expendable Delivery Unmanned Submarine Asset (MEDUSA) system is a mining system utilising an expendable UUV designed to meet the navy’s requirement for an advanced maritime mining system.

The tasks under this contract awarded to GDMS include program management, design, systems engineering, fabrication, and testing and integration of the MEDUSA system for employment from the navy's submarines.

The base contract, currently valued at US$15.9 million, will provide for program management, design, systems engineering, fabrication, testing and integration activities through September 2026. However, if the navy exercises contract options, work will continue through 2032 and the total contract value could reach US$58 million.

Due to the UUV's compact size, it can be launched from a submarine via the latter's torpedo tubes. The modular assembly will meanwhile permit the integration of various mission-specific payloads.