Manufacturing line/War ships/Medium unmanned surface vessel
Autonomous · War ships

Medium unmanned surface vessel

Two mission containers, 2,500 nm at twenty-five knots, no one aboard.

Phase 7 · early branchConcept design
Displacement
≈ 360 t
Power
2 × 2.6 MW diesel hybrid
Fuel burn
≈ 0.92 t / hr at 25 kn
Crew aboard
0
I · Blueprint
Side elevation, live systems
DWL50 m length overall2.1 m12.4 mAA0102030405060708091410111213151617Positions are to design scale. Beam 9 m, draft 2.1 m. The starboard engine, gearbox and waterjet sit behind the port line drawn.
SECTION A–AAT THE ENGINE ROOM, LOOKING FORWARDPLAN · MAIN DECKDASHED: HULL AT WATERLINEDWLwing tankwing tankintake airbeam 9 m2.1 m050709151650 m9 m10120714012 × 40 ft slots side by side · 75 kW and data to each
01Waterjets × 2, steering nozzles & bucketsPropulsion
02Jet intakes & impellersPropulsion
03Gearboxes, 2 : 1Propulsion
04Motor-generators, 2 × 300 kWPower
05V16 diesel engines, 2 × 2.6 MWPower
06Exhaust ducts to the transomPower
07Air intake casingPower
08Battery & DC switchboard — 600 kWhPower
09Fuel tanks — 105 tPower
10Mission deck — 2 × 40 ft slotsMission deck
11Payload power & data sockets, 75 kW eachMission deck
12Sensor mast — radar, cameras, EO/IRStructure
13Autonomy core, below the mastStructure
14Fuel receiver for replenishment at seaPower
15Aluminium deep-V hull, hard chinesStructure
16Watertight bulkheads × 6Structure
17Docking lidar & bow camerasStructure
II · Power & drivetrain

Diesels to the jets, a battery on the gearbox.

Each high-speed diesel drives its own waterjet through a gearbox. A motor-generator on each gearbox charges the battery at speed and turns the jets on battery alone when the vessel runs silent.

Hybrid waterjet plant — rotating view
Two 2.6 MW V16 diesels drive two waterjets through 2 : 1 gearboxes. A 300 kW motor-generator sits on each gearbox, tied to a 750 V DC bus and a 600 kWh battery between the engines. Intake ducts rise from the hull bottom into the pump housings; nozzles and reversing buckets steer and stop the vessel.
01Diesel engines — 2 × 2.6 MW V16, 1,800 rpm
02Turbochargers & cylinder banks
03Gearboxes — 2 : 1, 900 rpm to the jets
04Motor-generators — 2 × 300 kW on the gearboxes
05Battery — 600 kWh, 750 V DC
06Waterjets — intake, 6-blade impeller, stator
07Nozzles & reversing buckets — steer and stop
08Speed — 25 kn loaded for 2,500 nm, 27 kn top
Waterjet impeller — 6 blades
Power plant · IC design2 × 2.6 MW diesels, parallel hybrid
Jet output2 × 2.5 MW at 900 rpm, 26.5 kN·m each
FuelNaval distillate
Consumption≈ 0.92 t / hr at 25 kn
Metal content≈ 80% of lightship, aluminium hull
Naked drivetrain — energy to motion
III · Armament

Lightly armed, by design.

The medium vessel scouts, listens and stretches the fleet’s sensor line. It defends itself at close range and carries two light missiles; heavier weapons arrive as containers, and those are still in development. Choose a system to watch it fire, or open the magazines to see how small they are.

All systems stowed
1 × Mk 38 25 mm (IC design) · 1 × AGM-179 dual rail, 2 rounds (in development) · 2 × 40-ft slots: sensors and electronic warfare today, containerized missiles in development
Launchers and mounts
Launcher or mountCountCells or roundsRange classReload
Mk 38 25 mm remote weapon station (IC design)1Ready box on the mount; count not publishedVery shortBy hand in port, a fresh box
AGM-179 dual-rail launcher (in development)12 rounds on the railsShortBy hand in port
40-ft payload slots2, 75 kW eachMission containers: sensors and electronic warfare; containerized missiles in development—Container swapped by crane in port
Compatible munitions
Anti-ship and strike
AGM-179 light surface-attack missile: two fired from a 20 m uncrewed vessel at RIMPAC 2026In service
Containerized hypersonic missile (company program; sea launch from a medium uncrewed vessel planned 2027)In development
Naval Strike Missile in a deck container: not yet on an uncrewed vesselIn development
Mk 70-type 4-cell container with SM-6: an option; loaded weight not publishedIn development
Tube-launched loitering munition: in service on land, proposed at seaIn development
Anti-sub, torpedo and mines
Towed sonar in a container: finds submarines, carries no weapon (in test on uncrewed hulls)In development
Heavyweight torpedo carried by an uncrewed vessel (Navy concept, 2025); no mines todayIn development
Guns and counter-drone
Mk 38 25 mm remote gun: remote guns already fire from uncrewed boats in the Black SeaIn development
Electronic warfare container: tested on an uncrewed hullIn development
Battery-buffered laser container: power fits; pointing from a small hull is unprovenIn development
High-power microwave against drones and boat motorsIn development
Systems are named by US Navy designation. IC design marks fits no uncrewed vessel carries today. Sequences follow public descriptions at animation pace; missile and boat speeds are slowed. Sources and checks are listed in BUILD_NOTES.md.
IV · How it is put together

Aluminium hull, welded keel-up and turned over.

The aluminium hull is welded upside down so the outer seams run downhand, turned upright by crane, then closed with its deck and casing; engines, gearboxes and waterjets go in as tested units. The current boat went from keel to launch in about nine months.

The aluminium hull is built upside down, so welds run downhand.
Cranes turn the hull upright; the deck and casing close it in.
Tested diesels, gearboxes and both waterjets are fitted through the open deck.
The mast, autonomy core and intake casing go on; container slots are wired.
The boat is launched and trialled at sea with no one aboard.
I
Aluminium hull built keel-up
II
Hull flipped, deck closed
III
Engines, gearboxes, jets and battery
IV
Mast, core, casing, containers
V
Launch and uncrewed trials
V · Specification

Design specification.

Design values for the medium unmanned surface vessel. Every figure matches the drawings, the power unit and the compute panel on this page.

Length overall
50 m
Beam
9 m
Draft
2.1 m
Displacement
≈ 360 t
Payload
2 × 40 ft slots, 72 t
Payload power
75 kW to each slot
Power plant
2 × 2.6 MW diesels
Hybrid
2 × 300 kW motor-generators, 600 kWh
Propulsion
2 waterjets
Speed
27 kn top · 25 kn loaded
Range
2,500 nm at 25 kn · 9,000 nm at 12 kn
Fuel aboard
≈ 105 t naval distillate
Consumption
≈ 0.92 t / hr at 25 kn
Unattended at sea
30 days
Hull
Aluminium, deep V
Crew aboard
0
Onboard compute
Two light AI modules; payloads bring their own
Modules2 light AI modules (navigation & rules of the road; perception) + 2 certified safety controllers; mission containers carry their own compute
CPU16 cores (2 × 8) + 2 lockstep real-time cores per module
AI throughput3,000 TOPS (2 × 1,500, INT8 / FP4 sparse)
Memory2 × 64 GB LPDDR6, 300 GB/s per module
Power draw94 W compute; ≈ 0.4 kW with 10 cameras, 2 lidars and the radar — 0.008% of the 5.2 MW plant
Process node2 nm-class SoCs; safety controllers on a mature 16 nm node, 15-year supply; compute is a line-replaceable unit, swapped at mid-life
RedundancyEvery sensor is wired to both modules. Each module is primary for its zone and hot standby for the other. A software fault can never drive the vessel outside its certified safe envelope.
Safety channel2 × SIL 3 controllers with their own sensors: jet-shaft encoders, nozzle and bucket position sensors, engine overspeed and oil-pressure switches, fire and flood detectors, and a safety-rated collision radar
Sensors10 cameras (6 visible 4K, 4 thermal) on automotive Ethernet through camera aggregation switches; 2 docking lidars, 1 navigation radar, AIS, 400 plant sensors
DrivesMotor-generator drives close their own current loop at 1 kHz; governors and nozzle actuators close theirs locally; the modules send throttle and nozzle set-points at 10 Hz
LinkLine-of-sight mesh and satellite; the run plan is aboard, so a lost link changes nothing
Two light modules are enough for a 50 m hull: either one alone runs every camera at full rate. Mission containers bring their own compute and connect through the payload data socket; weapons, where fitted, answer to a human on their own link.
Today vs IC
Medium unmanned surface vessels today beside the IC design
Today · medium USV prototypesIC design
RequirementAt least 2 × 40 ft containers and 25 t; 2,500 nm at 25 kn in sea state 4; autonomous for weeks2 × 40 ft, 72 t; 2,500 nm at 25 kn loaded; 30 days unattended
Hull40 m trimaran, 145 t; 55 m aluminium monohull in trials50 m aluminium deep-V monohull, ≈ 360 t
PowerTwin diesels on the trimaran; diesel to 4 waterjets on the monohull; outputs not published2 × 2.6 MW diesels to 2 waterjets; 2 × 300 kW motor-generators, 600 kWh battery
Speed and range27 kn top, 10,000 nm at 12 kn (trimaran); over 25 kn and up to 5,400 nm (monohull, builder figures)27 kn top; 2,500 nm at 25 kn; 9,000 nm at 12 kn
Payload powerUp to 75 kW per container in the cancelled program’s spec75 kW and data to each slot
CrewUncrewed by design; autonomy regression tests in the at-sea phaseNo one aboard and no human spaces
The IC column is the design shown on this page. Sources for the Today column are listed in BUILD_NOTES.md.
Runs on The Brain
The Brain sends this vessel ahead of the fleet or out to a forward outpost, tracks it in the fleet’s digital twin, and re-plans the run the moment the picture changes.
See how it works →
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