US Navy Deploys First Autonomous Vessel with Carrier Strike Group in Historic Operational Milestone

The US Navy has deployed the Seahawk, an autonomous surface vessel, with the USS Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group for the first time in operational service, marking a historic transition from experimental unmanned systems to fleet-integrated autonomous operations. The Seahawk, a 145-ton, 137-foot Medium Unmanned Surface Vessel (MUSV) manufactured by Leidos Holdings Inc., departed San Diego in late September 2026 aboard Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) and its strike group, which is now transiting to the Middle East to replace USS George Washington. The deployment represents the culmination of years of development and testing that began with the original Sea Hunter platform and evolved through four-month Pacific testing in 2023–2024 before the Seahawk entered operational fleet status under Unmanned Surface Vessel Squadron 1 in April 2026.