Bollinger Shipyards has completed the successful delivery to the U.S. Navy of the first three mine countermeasures unmanned surface vehicles (MCM USVs). These vessels are the Navy’s first program of record, non-prototype, autonomous surface ships — a historic milestone in the transition to autonomous maritime operations.
“Bollinger is proud to deliver the first three full-rate production MCM USVs to the U.S. Navy,” said Bollinger Shipyards president and CEO Ben Bordelon. “This milestone demonstrates Bollinger’s ability to deliver highly complex, next-generation capabilities that meet the evolving needs of our naval forces. We’re honored to play a critical role in supporting the Navy’s future force and are proud of our skilled workforce, which makes this possible.”
The MCM USV is a multi-mission autonomous vessel capable of conducting minesweeping, mine hunting, and mine neutralization operations. These missions have traditionally been performed by manned MCM-1 class ships and MH-53E helicopters, both of which are being retired. The MCM USV significantly reduces risk to sailors by conducting dangerous operations in mine-threatened waters without a crew onboard.
The mine countermeasures unmanned surface vehicle vessel employs multiple payload delivery systems (PDSs), includingh the minesweeping PDS, minehunting PDS and PDSs for future payloads, including mine neutralization, all of which integrate to the base MCM USV craft.
Bollinger is constructing the vessels at its Lockport, La., facility. To date, the Navy has contracted Bollinger for 9 vessels under the MCM USV program, with options for up to 18 more.
