Commandant: Long-Range USV Will Be Primarily an ISR Platform That Launches Unmanned Assets

The Long-Range Unmanned Surface Vessel, being developed for the U.S. Marine Corps. METAL SHARK

ARLINGTON, Va. — The Long-Range Unmanned Surface Vessel (LRUSV) under development will primarily serve as an intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance platform for the U.S. Marine Corps once it is fielded, Marine Corps Commandant Gen. David H. Berger said Thursday during a virtual event hosted by Defense One.

Berger said the Marines are keenly interested in the distance the platform can cover, as well as its ability to launch other unmanned assets.

“What does it allow us to do that we can’t do right now? One is range across the surface of the water,” he said. “The second is we’re going to use it primarily not as a kinetic platform, but as an unmanned vessel that can launch unmanned collection systems. Now you’re really doubling the reach of where you can collect, where you can inform yourself about what’s happening in front of you.”

He added that the platform can be used on the electromagnetic spectrum to deny adversaries from collecting information against U.S. Navy assets.

“So the long-range unmanned surface vessel, primarily for us we’re looking at it as an ISR platform on the surface of the water that allows us to stretch out, to see what’s in front of us at much greater depth,” Berger said, “and then launch unmanned platforms in the air or on the surface or subsurface even farther. If we had to do that by humans right now, it would be manned vessels, manned aerial platforms, limited by range and the fatigue level, the endurance level, of a human being.

“This allows us to generate a whole lot of tempo and keep a shield, keep a screen out in front of us much more persistently,” he said.

The platform is currently located in the Norfolk, Virginia, area and will soon be transported to Hawaii, Berger said.

Although the LRUSV may be focused on ISR missions, the vessel is likely to get some lethal capabilities as well. Multiple reports indicate the Marines plan to acquire loitering munitions that can be launched from autonomous boats like the LRUSV.

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