Metal Shark to provide autonomous vessel system to the Marines

Louisiana-based shipbuilder Metal Shark has been contracted to develop and implement the Long Range Unmanned Surface Vessel (LRUSV) System for the U.S. Marine Corps. The LRUSV System will usher in a new era of naval technology while increasing the lethality of U.S. forces, with a network of unmanned vessels traveling autonomously for extended ranges and transporting loitering munitions to address targets at sea and on land. This tiered, scalable weapons system will provide the ability to accurately track and destroy targets at range throughout the battle space. While fully autonomous, the vessels may be optionally manned and they will carry multiple payloads, which they will be capable of autonomously launching and retrieving. Metal Shark has enlisted autonomous technology developer Spatial Integrated Systems (SIS), recently acquired by Huntington Ingalls Industries, to provide the autonomy solution for the LRUSV system. SIS is a leader in the development of multivessel collaborative “swarming” autonomous capabilities, sensor fusion and perception.