Brenda Marie Rivers
The marine subsidiary of ST Engineering North America has partnered with Gibbs & Cox to develop a concept for the U.S. Navy’s Large Unmanned Surface Vessel as part of a design analysis contract that will run through August 2021.
VT Halter Marine said Tuesday it will combine its shipbuilding expertise with Gibbs & Cox’s marine engineering and naval architecture experience as part of the award which includes options that would extend the performance period through May 2022.
In September, Gibbs & Cox secured a $7M award to execute design studies for the LUSV. Other companies selected for analysis contracts include Austal USA, Bollinger Shipyards, Fincantieri Marinette Marine, Huntington Ingalls Industries and Lockheed Martin.
LUSV is envisioned as a high-endurance vessel spanning up to 300 feet that can carry payloads for autonomous maneuvers in support of the Navy’s manned assets.
VT Halter Marine is also working with Gibbs & Cox on a similar contract with the Navy to perform industrial analysis for the service’s auxiliary general ocean surveillance ship effort.
The ST Engineering company is additionally continuing Phase I activities for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s AGOR Variant vessel for marine research.
