Two companies sue Navy after losing bids for unmanned vessel testing program

Blue Water Autonomy and Saildrone filed lawsuits against the US Navy after the service rejected their proposals for the Medium Unmanned Surface Vessel marketplace. The marketplace launched in March to replace the canceled Modular Attack Surface Craft program.

The Navy rejected Blue Water Autonomy's Liberty MUSV and Saildrone's Spectre MUSV for the at-sea prototype testing phase scheduled to end in October.

Both companies stated that their proposals met the requirements outlined in the March request for proposals. They alleged the Navy eliminated them based on conclusions that did not align with the RFP guidance. One lawsuit seeks a court order to halt the Navy from completing testing and awarding further MUSV contracts.

Blue Water Autonomy noted that the Navy had previously selected its vessel solution for the MASC program before canceling that effort in March. The complaint stated that Blue Water Autonomy and its partners, including Google Ventures, invested significant funds based on the Navy's stated goal of using commercial innovations for autonomous vessels.

Blue Water Autonomy spent more than $10 million building its Liberty test vessel.

Saildrone's Spectre MUSV includes Silent Endurance and Stealth Strike variants. The lawsuits follow the Navy's announcement that the MUSV marketplace would take the place of the canceled MASC program.