Textron Starts On-Water Testing Of Fourth Gen Unmanned Surface Vehicle

Textron Systems has begun on-water testing for the fourth-generation Common Unmanned Surface Vehicle (CUSV), supporting the U.S. Navy's Unmanned Influence Sweep System (UISS) program.

Textron Systems completed the design, build and component test phases of the UISS program in November 2016. Following component testing, Textron Systems began the systems level integration and test (I&T) phase, culminating in dockside and on-water testing in Lake Pontchartrain near its Marine & Land Systems facility in Louisiana, the company said in a statement Wednesday.

The I&T phase includes functional testing of the system's integrated generators, engines, datalinks, as well as on-water manoeuvrability testing. Textron Systems will move into builders' trials upon completion of I&T and then formal testing to validate system functionality with the U.S. Navy later this year.

The Textron Systems Unmanned Systems fourth-generation CUSV is a multi-mission unmanned surface vehicle with a configurable payload bay. Since its first demonstration in 2009, the CUSV has completed several exercises with the U.S. Navy. Today, the variations of the CUSV have amassed more than 2,000 on-water operational hours, and the craft is capable of carrying multiple payloads, including side-scan sonar, mine neutralization, nonlethal weapons, and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance sensors.