US firm begins construction of new medium unmanned vessels

Birdon America has started work on its first group of medium unmanned surface vehicles (MUSVs) at C&C Marine & Repair’s facilities in Belle Chasse, Louisiana.

C&C Marine will build the vessels while Mythos AI will provide autonomy. Birdon will act as prime contractor, exercise design authority, and oversee systems integration.

C&C Marine President and Owner Tony Cibilich said the yard plans to produce one vessel every two months. Birdon did not disclose the number of MUSVs in the first tranche or provide delivery dates, so the planned cadence does not establish a schedule for completing the block.

Birdon said the programme combines C&C Marine’s serial production capacity with Mythos AI’s deployed autonomy technology. An April 2026 memorandum of understanding between Birdon and Mythos AI set out their joint pursuit of MUSV opportunities, with Mythos providing software for mission functions, command and control, perception and navigation.