Navy Releases RFP for Medium Unmanned Underwater Vehicle - USNI News

The Navy this week released a request for proposals for a Medium Unmanned Underwater Vehicle (MUUV) that is meant to streamline two existing unmanned systems into a single open architecture UUV.

The RFP is for the design, development, test, and production of the MUUV, and the Navy notes it may award multiple contracts for this program.

Today the explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) community already uses the Mk 18 Mod 2 Kingfish UUV to find mine-like objects in the water. Crews launch and recover the tube-shaped UUV from rigid-hull inflatable boats (RHIBs) using a small handling system, and the UUV searches the waters and sends information back to a post-mission analysis cell ashore.

The submarine community has been developing a Razorback UUV that was initially meant to be launched and recovered via a submarine’s dry deck shelter and would carry environment-sensing payloads. The Navy determined it also wanted a Razorback variant that could be launched and recovered from a submarine’s torpedo tube, USNI News previously reported.