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LATEST UPDATES

The Coast Guard in late July 2025 completed comprehensive operational testing of Shield AI's V-BAT unmanned aircraft system (UAS) aboard Coast Guard Cutters Midgett and Stone in preparation for future installation of the V-BAT UAS capability across the national security cutter fleet and potentially other Coast Guard vessel classes. 


The Coast Guard on July 17, 2025, issued a request for information (RFI) seeking information on the current capabilities of maritime unmanned aircraft systems, sensor technology and payload capabilities. The RFI is available here. Responses are due no later than 1 p.m. EDT on Aug. 18, 2025. 


The Coast Guard awarded an indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity firm fixed-price contract on June 26, 2024, to Shield AI Inc. of San Diego for unmanned aircraft system capability that can be deployed from Coast Guard cutters.  

Unmanned Autonomous Maritime Systems 


Unmanned autonomous maritime systems include both surface and subsurface systems. 

 

Unmanned surface vessels (USV) 

The Coast Guard has partnered with other government agencies to leverage a Department of Homeland Security contract for Saildrone USV capabilities. Primarily propelled by the wind and powered by solar energy, the USVs provide additional capabilities that enhance maritime domain awareness in an environmentally sustainable and cost-efficient manner. These USVs can be deployed and retrieved from any coastal location and operate 24/7/365, without the need for crewed support vehicles.  

 

Unmanned underwater vessels (UUV) 

The Coast Guard currently fields tethered remotely operated vehicles (ROVs), which are a form of UUV.  Beginning in 2004, the ROV program was developed for the Deployable Specialized Forces to support Maritime Homeland Security operations initially but has since expanded to support diving operations; search and rescue; ports, waterways and coastal security; humanitarian assistance and disaster response; and aids to navigation missions across the country. Designed as a target acquisition system, the combination of video, side scan sonar and forward-looking sonar on the ROV provides the Coast Guard with quick real-time data of subsurface on-scene conditions.