{"id":50890,"date":"2026-03-26T19:03:12","date_gmt":"2026-03-26T19:03:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2026\/03\/26\/us-navy-launches-new-golden-fleet-era-usv-program-terminates-old-one\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T19:55:53","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T19:55:53","slug":"us-navy-launches-new-golden-fleet-era-usv-program-terminates-old-one","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/naval\/2026\/03\/26\/us-navy-launches-new-golden-fleet-era-usv-program-terminates-old-one\/","title":{"rendered":"US Navy launches new Golden Fleet-era USV program, terminates old one"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The U.S. Navy announced a new chapter of unmanned surface vessel acquisition that seeks to accelerate development of autonomous capabilities and ditch its previous program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The service commenced the Medium Unmanned Surface Vessel Family of Systems program on Thursday, opening up solicitations for a specific class of boat touted as an integral part of the service\u2019s Golden Fleet initiative. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cOur goal is to create a regular and recurring marketplace, not just for the MUSV, but for other classes of vessels as well, over time, designed to match the growing demand for unmanned systems across a range of missions,\u201d said Rebecca Gassler, portfolio acquisition executive for the U.S. Navy\u2019s robotic and autonomous systems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Gassler, who spoke with reporters during a virtual Thursday media roundtable, said the marketplace was seeking production-ready, mission-capable vessels that were aligned with Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Daryl Caudle\u2019s containerized capability campaign plan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The CNO <a href=\"https:\/\/defensescoop.com\/2026\/03\/20\/navy-cno-kicks-off-new-containerized-capability-campaign-plan\/?utm_content=373881614&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_source=twitter&amp;hss_channel=tw-1450183022616121344\" rel=\"\">announced<\/a> the plan during McAleese Defense Programs conference last week, detailing a vision in which modular payloads \u2014 or transportable containers housing defense capabilities such as drones and weapons \u2014 can be deployed to any region in the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/your-military\/2026\/03\/16\/navy-unmanned-vessel-operators-are-now-earning-specialized-badges\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"195\" src=\"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Untitled-design-32.png-32.png?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Navy unmanned vessel operators are now earning specialized badges<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">Unmanned warfare specialists can now earn the Craftmaster Insignia, a distinctive and rare device featuring a ship\u2019s wheel and crossed anchors. <\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The MUSV program was focused on demonstrated performance at sea, and not on the rigmarole of development, Gassler outlined.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The <a href=\"https:\/\/sam.gov\/workspace\/contract\/opp\/824c0130a4904da0af84afb0e68da68d\/view\" rel=\"\">solicitation<\/a>, which closes April 17, will analyze a company\u2019s business plan, manufacturing plan, test plan and technical design.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">From there, chosen companies and their medium unmanned surface vessels will complete an on-water test, which will be conducted by the end of the fiscal year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After the Navy undergoes initial testing of these vessels, the service will offer a fixed price payment to companies that successfully complete the on-water test and move into production or a leasing agreement, Gassler said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Speed and efficiency were front of mind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There wouldn\u2019t be a year of prototyping and development, according to Gassler. The Navy would look at a company\u2019s business plan, manufacturing capabilities, do a test, and then it would be \u201coff to the races\u201d for production.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The first of the production vessel was expected be delivered in fiscal 2027.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As for the closure of MASC, Gassler said that the program was tailored toward a specific mission for a specific ask and quantity from the fleet, whereas the Navy had a much wider variety of requirements and mission types for the MUSVs in the Golden Fleet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.navy.mil\/Press-Office\/Press-Releases\/display-pressreleases\/Article\/4366856\/president-trump-announces-new-battleship\/\" rel=\"\"><u>Announced<\/u><\/a> in December 2025, the Golden Fleet will see the construction of new Trump-class battleships, which will reportedly be triple the size of an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Navy Secretary John Phelan applauded the new marketplace on social media Thursday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThis new approach will leverage private investment and accelerate the delivery of real capabilities to the Fleet,\u201d Phelan said in an X <a href=\"http:\/\/This%20new%20approach%20will%20leverage%20private%20investment%20and%20accelerate%20the%20delivery%20of%20real%20capabilities%20to%20the%20Fleet.%20We%20will%20reward%20the%20companies%20who%20are%20able%20to%20deliver%20capability%20at%20the%20speed%20of%20relevance.\" rel=\"\">post<\/a>. \u201cWe will reward the companies who are able to deliver capability at the speed of relevance.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Navy <a href=\"https:\/\/www.navytimes.com\/news\/your-navy\/2025\/07\/29\/navy-calls-for-fast-attack-surface-drones-that-could-carry-missiles\/\" rel=\"\">announced<\/a> the Modular Attack Surface Craft, or MASC, program on July 28, 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The program solicited the development of unmanned surface vehicles that were \u201cnon-exquisite\u201d and could be constructed and maintained easily. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The program asked for USVs that were capable of carrying large containerized payloads that could accommodate a similar weight to the Navy\u2019s anti-ballistic missile system, the Mark 70 Mod 1 Payload Delivery System.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe One Big Beautiful Bill Act contained nearly $5 [billion] for US Navy unmanned programs, including $2.1B for medium unmanned surface vessels,\u201d a Navy official told Military Times in an emailed statement. \u201cUnmanned vessels will be integral to the Navy\u2019s Golden Fleet and Hedge Strategy.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The service is seeking production-ready, mission-capable unmanned surface vessels.  <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":113110,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":16,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[160,29,88,16,36],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3478],"class_list":["post-50890","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-digital-show-dailies","category-global-force-symposium","category-naval","category-newsletters"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"57MEBN5G65CBBEDF3TNVPLGUNU","arc_canonical_url":"\/news\/your-navy\/2026\/03\/26\/us-navy-launches-new-golden-fleet-era-usv-program-terminates-old-one\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented 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