Textron Systems Corporation, a division of Textron Inc., has announced the launch of its TSUNAMI family of autonomous maritime surface vessels.
As noted by the company, designed to meet the evolving needs of the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) and allied forces, the TSUNAMI vessels aim to provide an affordable, versatile, and rapidly deployable solution for multi-mission maritime operations.
The TSUNAMI family combines Textron Systems’ extensive experience in multi-domain autonomous vehicle integration with the capacity and design expertise of the U.S. commercial shipbuilding industry. Leveraging Brunswick Corporation’s high-performance vessels, the new platform is powered by Textron’s proven CUSV autonomy control system.
“Textron Systems understands how to design, integrate, field, and support autonomous systems across the air, land, and sea domains because we are unique in having done that,” said David Phillips, Senior Vice President of Air, Land, and Sea Systems at Textron. “Combining this expertise with the capability, demonstrated capacity, and affordability of Brunswick’s commercial shipbuilding know-how allows us to provide our DoD and allied customers with powerful maritime force strength at speed and at scale.”
The TSUNAMI family includes 24-, 25-, and 28-foot variants, each offering payload capacities of up to 1,000 pounds (453.6 kilograms). The vessels, designed for rapid deployment in environments up to Sea State 4, feature operational ranges between 600 and over 1,000 nautical miles. The gasoline-powered platforms prioritize logistics, maintenance, and affordability, while retaining the capability to scale production volumes and adapt to new vessel sizes and configurations.
Textron Systems emphasizes the modularity of the TSUNAMI design, which can support a wide range of critical payloads for tasks such as surveillance, reconnaissance, mine countermeasures, and maritime security.
The company’s Common Unmanned Surface Vehicle (CUSV) program became the U.S. Navy’s first small USV program of record, accumulating thousands of operational hours. The TSUNAMI family builds on this foundation, addressing the Navy’s increased interest in cost-effective, uncrewed platforms for distributed maritime operations.
The TSUNAMI vessels reflect the Navy’s push for innovative solutions to enhance maritime capabilities while reducing operational costs.