Manufacturing line/War ships/Medium unmanned surface vessel

Autonomous · War ships

Medium unmanned surface vessel

Two mission containers, 2,500 nm at twenty-five knots, no one aboard.

Phase 7 · early branchConcept design

Displacement

≈ 360 t

Power

2 × 2.6 MW diesel hybrid

Fuel burn

≈ 0.92 t / hr at 25 kn

Crew aboard

I · Blueprint

Side elevation, live systems

01Waterjets × 2, steering nozzles & bucketsPropulsion

02Jet intakes & impellersPropulsion

03Gearboxes, 2 : 1Propulsion

04Motor-generators, 2 × 300 kWPower

05V16 diesel engines, 2 × 2.6 MWPower

06Exhaust ducts to the transomPower

07Air intake casingPower

08Battery & DC switchboard — 600 kWhPower

09Fuel tanks — 105 tPower

10Mission deck — 2 × 40 ft slotsMission deck

11Payload power & data sockets, 75 kW eachMission deck

12Sensor mast — radar, cameras, EO/IRStructure

13Autonomy core, below the mastStructure

14Fuel receiver for replenishment at seaPower

15Aluminium deep-V hull, hard chinesStructure

16Watertight bulkheads × 6Structure

17Docking lidar & bow camerasStructure

II · Power & drivetrain

Diesels to the jets, a battery on the gearbox.

Each high-speed diesel drives its own waterjet through a gearbox. A motor-generator on each gearbox charges the battery at speed and turns the jets on battery alone when the vessel runs silent.

Hybrid waterjet plant — rotating view

Two 2.6 MW V16 diesels drive two waterjets through 2 : 1 gearboxes. A 300 kW motor-generator sits on each gearbox, tied to a 750 V DC bus and a 600 kWh battery between the engines. Intake ducts rise from the hull bottom into the pump housings; nozzles and reversing buckets steer and stop the vessel.

01Diesel engines — 2 × 2.6 MW V16, 1,800 rpm

02Turbochargers & cylinder banks

03Gearboxes — 2 : 1, 900 rpm to the jets

04Motor-generators — 2 × 300 kW on the gearboxes

05Battery — 600 kWh, 750 V DC

06Waterjets — intake, 6-blade impeller, stator

07Nozzles & reversing buckets — steer and stop

08Speed — 25 kn loaded for 2,500 nm, 27 kn top

Waterjet impeller — 6 blades

Power plant · IC design2 × 2.6 MW diesels, parallel hybrid

Jet output2 × 2.5 MW at 900 rpm, 26.5 kN·m each

FuelNaval distillate

Consumption≈ 0.92 t / hr at 25 kn

Metal content≈ 80% of lightship, aluminium hull

Naked drivetrain — energy to motion

III · How it is put together

Built in blocks, joined, then brought to life.

Aluminium hull modules are welded in jigs in parallel and joined in sequence. Engines, gearboxes and jets go in as tested units; the mast, autonomy core and mission containers go on last. The loop below replays the build order.

Aluminium hull modules

Modules joined, cable and pipe routed

III

Engines, gearboxes, jets and battery installed

Mast, autonomy core and casing fitted

Sea trials, no one aboard

IV · Specification

Design specification.

Design values for the medium unmanned surface vessel. Every figure matches the drawings, the power unit and the compute panel on this page.

Length overall

50 m

Beam

9 m

Draft

2.1 m

Displacement

≈ 360 t

Payload

2 × 40 ft slots, 72 t

Payload power

75 kW to each slot

Power plant

2 × 2.6 MW diesels

Hybrid

2 × 300 kW motor-generators, 600 kWh

Propulsion

2 waterjets

Speed

27 kn top · 25 kn loaded

Range

2,500 nm at 25 kn · 9,000 nm at 12 kn

Fuel aboard

≈ 105 t naval distillate

Consumption

≈ 0.92 t / hr at 25 kn

Unattended at sea

30 days

Hull

Aluminium, deep V

Crew aboard

Onboard compute

Two light AI modules; payloads bring their own

Modules2 light AI modules (navigation & rules of the road; perception) + 2 certified safety controllers; mission containers carry their own compute

CPU16 cores (2 × 8) + 2 lockstep real-time cores per module

AI throughput3,000 TOPS (2 × 1,500, INT8 / FP4 sparse)

Memory2 × 64 GB LPDDR6, 300 GB/s per module

Power draw94 W compute; ≈ 0.4 kW with 10 cameras, 2 lidars and the radar — 0.008% of the 5.2 MW plant

Process node2 nm-class SoCs; safety controllers on a mature 16 nm node, 15-year supply; compute is a line-replaceable unit, swapped at mid-life

RedundancyEvery sensor is wired to both modules. Each module is primary for its zone and hot standby for the other. A software fault can never drive the vessel outside its certified safe envelope.

Safety channel2 × SIL 3 controllers with their own sensors: jet-shaft encoders, nozzle and bucket position sensors, engine overspeed and oil-pressure switches, fire and flood detectors, and a safety-rated collision radar

Sensors10 cameras (6 visible 4K, 4 thermal) on automotive Ethernet through camera aggregation switches; 2 docking lidars, 1 navigation radar, AIS, 400 plant sensors

DrivesMotor-generator drives close their own current loop at 1 kHz; governors and nozzle actuators close theirs locally; the modules send throttle and nozzle set-points at 10 Hz

LinkLine-of-sight mesh and satellite; the run plan is aboard, so a lost link changes nothing

Two light modules are enough for a 50 m hull: either one alone runs every camera at full rate. Mission containers bring their own compute and connect through the payload data socket; weapons, where fitted, answer to a human on their own link.

Today vs IC

Medium unmanned surface vessels today beside the IC design

Today · medium USV prototypesIC design

RequirementAt least 2 × 40 ft containers and 25 t; 2,500 nm at 25 kn in sea state 4; autonomous for weeks2 × 40 ft, 72 t; 2,500 nm at 25 kn loaded; 30 days unattended

Hull40 m trimaran, 145 t; 55 m aluminium monohull in trials50 m aluminium deep-V monohull, ≈ 360 t

PowerTwin diesels on the trimaran; diesel to 4 waterjets on the monohull; outputs not published2 × 2.6 MW diesels to 2 waterjets; 2 × 300 kW motor-generators, 600 kWh battery

Speed and range27 kn top, 10,000 nm at 12 kn (trimaran); over 25 kn and up to 5,400 nm (monohull, builder figures)27 kn top; 2,500 nm at 25 kn; 9,000 nm at 12 kn

Payload powerUp to 75 kW per container in the cancelled program’s spec75 kW and data to each slot

CrewUncrewed by design; autonomy regression tests in the at-sea phaseNo one aboard and no human spaces

The IC column is the design shown on this page. Sources for the Today column are listed in BUILD_NOTES.md.

Runs on The Brain

The Brain sends this vessel ahead of the fleet or out to a forward outpost, tracks it in the fleet’s digital twin, and re-plans the run the moment the picture changes.

See how it works →

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