The way wars are fought is changing fast. We’re seeing more drones, self-driving ships, and unmanned vehicles. This means fewer soldiers face direct danger. Military technology is moving towards artificial intelligence and robotic platforms. They are taking over risky jobs. The US is already looking ahead. They want warships that drive themselves.
A New Kind of Autonomous Ship
Imagine a minimalist aluminum boat, kind of like a sleek catamaran. Now add some design hints from a Cybertruck. That’s a rough picture of the Modular Attack Surface Craft, or MASC. BlackSea Technologies created this design. They are offering it to the US Navy as a multi-purpose autonomous warship. It’s much more capable than it looks. This new vessel uses a familiar base. It shares 75% of its parts with BlackSea’s Global Autonomous Reconnaissance Craft (GARC).
The MASC was built to meet or even exceed Navy needs. These needs are for large and medium Unmanned Surface Vehicles (USV). The Navy set these rules for a design contest in July 2025. It even uses the Navy’s own Unmanned Maritime Autonomy Architecture (UMAA). This makes the MASC a modular, “plug-and-play” type of design.
The BlackSea MASC vessel brings some strong features:
- It can carry 30,480 kilograms (about 30 tons) of cargo. It also has 83 square meters of open deck space.
- The ship provides 198 kilowatts of electrical power. This powers advanced sensors and weapon systems.
- It can travel 3,000 nautical miles at 10 knots. For self-deployment, its extended range is up to 10,000 nautical miles.
- Its top speed is 25 knots. This allows for quick and long missions.
So, what does it truly look like? Imagine a mix of a catamaran and a big floating fishing platform. It has a large open deck, about 900 square feet (83 m²). This deck can hold standard shipping containers, up to 30 tons. Below this deck, the power plant hums. It pushes out 198 kWe of electricity. This juice is for its sensors and weapon systems. That’s twice the cargo capacity and electrical power of similar self-driving ships.
Range and Mission Abilities
The MASC needs to perform these tasks well. So, it has two slim hulls. These help it stay steady and move fast. Two powerful Volvo Penta D8-IPS600 integrated propulsion units drive the ship. They give it a top speed of 25 knots (46.3 km/h). Its cruising speed is 10 knots (18.5 km/h). It can cover 3,000 nautical miles (5,556 km) on a mission. For simply getting itself to a faraway spot, it can travel up to 10,000 nautical miles (18,520 km).
Our approach starts with the mission, not with the platform. We designed a flexible, modular combatant that can evolve with the Fleet. It can also be produced in large numbers today, not years from now.
Todd Greene, who is BlackSea’s Deputy Director of Advanced Technology, explained their thinking.