U.S. Navy Deploys Unmanned Vessel Alongside Aircraft Carrier for the First Time

The U.S. Navy deployed an unmanned surface vessel (USV) alongside a carrier strike group for the first time, as confirmed by Acting Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao on October 14 during an Association of the U.S. Army conference in Washington D.C. The vessel, named Seahawk, is sailing alongside the USS Theodore Roosevelt carrier strike group, which departed San Diego on October 8. Cao described the deployment as a force multiplier, noting that the USV provides additional capabilities to naval forces.

Seahawk is a Medium Displacement Unmanned Surface Vessel (MDUSV) with a trimaran hull, delivered by Leidos to the Navy in April 2021 under a contract awarded by the Office of Naval Research in December 2017, valued at approximately $35.5 million. It has a full-load displacement of 145 long tons and a fuel capacity of 14,000 gallons. The system was re-engineered from the Sea Hunter design to enable autonomous navigation, compliance with the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea (COLREGs), and GPS-denied navigation, with mechanical and electrical systems designed to operate for months without crew or routine maintenance.

Prior to departure, the Navy had already shown in September the destroyer USS Chafee practicing a stern refueling operation with the Seahawk prototype, and Leidos confirmed on September 8 that the vessel was operating alongside the strike group, describing it as the first medium USV to be operationally deployed with a carrier strike group. There are some differences between sources regarding the mission's destination: Naval Today reported that the strike group is headed to the Middle East, while The Maritime Executive indicated that the Theodore Roosevelt is currently operating in the Pacific.

Cao also mentioned that the Navy used unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs) to clear mines in the Strait of Hormuz without exposing minesweepers or their crews to Iranian attacks. According to gCaptain, the Seahawk deployment is part of a broader push by the Department of War, which includes the Project Agincourt initiative and plans for an Autonomous Warfare Command announced by Secretary Pete Hegseth, as well as the hybrid fleet vision promoted by Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Daryl Caudle. The outlet also recalled that in June a Saronic Corsair USV rescued two downed Army aviators near Oman, as an example of the operational use of these systems in the Persian Gulf.