Textron Systems Unmanned Systems has announced that it has begun on-water testing of its fourth-generation Common Unmanned Surface Vehicle (CUSV).

“We are excited to begin system level testing of our first UISS system with mine countermeasure capabilities for the U.S. Navy,” says Wayne Prender, vice president of Control and Surface Systems, via press release.

“Unmanned technology has come such a long way, and we are looking forward to beginning to apply our critical technology to protect our Naval warfighters.”

The testing comes as a part of the U.S. Navy's Unmanned Influence Sweep System (UISS) program. Last November, Textron finished the design, build and component test phases of the program. Following the completion of those phases, Textron began the systems level integration and test phase, which includes testing of the system’s on-water maneuverability, as well as functional testing of the system’s integrated generators, engines, datalinks.

Once Textron is done with this set of testing, it will transition to builders' trials and formal testing to confirm system functionality with the Navy.

Equipped with a large configurable payload bay, which allows it to carry several types of payload including nonlethal weapons and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance sensors, the fourth generation CUSV is usable for a variety of missions. In total, the variations of the CUSV have over 2,000 operational hours on water.

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