The U.S. Navy awarded Bollinger Shipyards Lockport LLC a $65.7 million contract modification to expand production and implement engineering enhancements for the Navy’s Mine Countermeasures Unmanned Surface Vehicles (MCM USVs). This award—announced by the Department of Defense—is more than just another line item in the Pentagon’s budget. It’s a strategic investment in autonomous maritime warfare, a vital economic boost for Lockport, Louisiana, and a milestone in the Navy’s evolving approach to mine countermeasures.
This contract builds on a 2022 agreement and reflects growing confidence in Bollinger’s ability to deliver next-generation platforms that will redefine how the Navy neutralizes underwater threats. With the mine warfare landscape becoming increasingly complex and adversaries like China and Iran investing in smart mines and asymmetric tactics, the MCM USV program is emerging as a critical element in the U.S. Navy’s modernization strategy.
Naval mines are the underappreciated menace of maritime warfare. Cheap to produce, easy to deploy, and devastating in effect, they have challenged even the most sophisticated navies. The U.S. learned this the hard way during Operation Desert Storm in 1991, when Iraqi mines severely damaged the USS Tripoli and USS Princeton.
Three decades later, the threat hasn’t gone away—it’s intensified. With China aggressively expanding its presence in the South China Sea and Iran flexing its naval capabilities in the Persian Gulf, the risk posed by mines is no longer hypothetical. Newer mines are being outfitted with advanced sensors and guidance systems, capable of distinguishing and targeting specific vessel types. In this context, the Navy’s investment in MCM USVs is both urgent and overdue.
The MCM USV is a 39-foot, diesel-powered, aluminum-hulled autonomous vessel designed to locate, identify, and neutralize naval mines. It is part of the Navy’s broader move toward distributed maritime operations—where unmanned and manned assets work in tandem to increase flexibility and reduce risks to human life.
Outfitted with the AN/AQS-20C sonar by Raytheon Technologies, the MCM USV can detect a range of mine types: moored, bottom, and volume. This sonar system offers high-resolution imaging, allowing real-time classification and localization of threats. Additionally, the MCM USV integrates the Unmanned Influence Sweep System (UISS), a towed system that allows the vessel to simulate magnetic and acoustic signatures, effectively triggering mines from a safe distance.
The combination of these technologies enables the vessel to perform a full-spectrum mine countermeasures mission—sweeping, hunting, and neutralizing—without putting sailors at risk.
The latest $65.7 million contract modification is a firm-fixed-price deal awarded by the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) in Washington, D.C. It exercises options under a previously awarded production contract, initially granted in April 2022. The funding will go toward building additional MCM USVs and implementing engineering changes based on lessons learned from testing and initial field use.
These updates are expected to focus on improving autonomy, enhancing navigation in congested or cluttered environments, and boosting cybersecurity features to defend against electronic warfare threats—an increasingly relevant concern as adversaries develop counter-autonomy tactics.
This modification is not merely about quantity but quality—ensuring the Navy’s MCM fleet is not just larger but smarter and more capable.
For Lockport, Louisiana, the contract is a lifeline and a point of pride. Nestled along Bayou Lafourche, Bollinger Shipyards is deeply woven into the town’s identity. The company employs hundreds of skilled workers, many of whom represent multiple generations of shipbuilders. Their expertise—tempered through years of building vessels for the Navy, Coast Guard, and commercial clients—has made Lockport a cornerstone of the U.S. defense industrial base.
The initial 2022 contract supported over 100 jobs at the Lockport facility. This latest award is expected to sustain and possibly increase that number. In a region where economic opportunities can be volatile, the shipyard’s steady hum of activity offers stability and pride.
“It’s not just about jobs,” one Bollinger worker told The Advocate. “It’s about knowing we’re building something that keeps people safe and keeps the country strong.”
Founded in 1946, Bollinger Shipyards has evolved from a family-run operation into a premier provider of high-performance vessels. With 13 shipyards spanning Louisiana and Mississippi, the company has long played a role in bolstering U.S. maritime strength.
Bollinger’s successful bid for the MCM USV production contract in 2022—partnering with Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) and Raytheon Technologies—marked its leap into autonomous naval platforms. HII contributes autonomy integration via its Odyssey suite, while Raytheon ensures sensor and payload coordination.
This team has already delivered three MCM USVs to the Navy as of April 2025, marking the first time the Navy has received a program-of-record, non-prototype autonomous surface ship.
The impact of the MCM USV program reaches far beyond Louisiana. Key components are sourced from across the country, including Virginia, Georgia, and Ohio. This geographic distribution underscores the interconnected nature of the defense supply chain and the national importance of the program.
In February 2025, Bollinger received an additional $7.7 million contract to procure materials for future MCM USV production. Meanwhile, Raytheon and Textron continue to supply and refine mission systems and payloads. These combined efforts represent a comprehensive push to field a battle-ready mine countermeasures package.
The MCM USV is set to replace aging platforms like the Avenger-class mine countermeasure ships and the MH-53E Sea Dragon helicopters—both of which have served since the 1980s. These legacy systems, while once state-of-the-art, are increasingly costly to maintain and operate.
Avenger-class ships rely on divers and tethered sonar, exposing personnel to unnecessary risk and limiting the speed of operations. The MH-53E, while powerful, is notoriously maintenance-intensive and vulnerable in contested airspace.
By contrast, the MCM USV offers a modular, rapidly deployable, and lower-risk alternative. It can be launched from Littoral Combat Ships (LCSs) and potentially other future motherships, providing flexibility in contested waters like the South China Sea or the Strait of Hormuz.
The road to deployment hasn’t been smooth. Testing conducted aboard the USS Cincinnati in 2022 revealed issues with launch and recovery systems and mission package integration. A Pentagon report later noted these deficiencies, sparking targeted engineering efforts to resolve them.
The contract modification announced in May 2025 is widely viewed as an effort to address these shortcomings. It funds specific refinements that will enable the MCM USVs to operate more reliably in dynamic environments—especially where GPS may be degraded, or electronic interference is likely.
While other nations have also ventured into unmanned systems, the MCM USV gives the U.S. a technological edge. China’s HSU-001, for example, is primarily a surveillance drone, lacking the integrated mine-hunting and sweeping capabilities of the U.S. system.
Russia’s Project 12700 minesweepers are manned and thus inherently riskier in high-threat zones. European navies have experimented with modular mine countermeasure drones, but none have yet fielded a platform with the MCM USV’s level of integration, endurance, and autonomy.
What sets the MCM USV apart is its ability to operate across the full spectrum of mine warfare—from detection to neutralization—without putting human lives in harm’s way.
The MCM USV program aligns closely with the Navy’s vision of Distributed Maritime Operations (DMO). This doctrine emphasizes agility, survivability, and autonomy, allowing the Navy to respond flexibly in contested environments.
DMO sees unmanned systems like the MCM USV as force multipliers. They not only reduce operational costs but also free up manned vessels for more complex missions. As sea lanes become more contested and threats more asymmetric, unmanned vessels will be the tip of the spear.
According to a 2024 Congressional Research Service report, the Navy plans to increase its investment in unmanned systems by 27% over the next five years. The MCM USV is expected to play a central role in that expansion.
With options for up to 18 additional MCM USVs, Bollinger is positioned to remain a key partner in the Navy’s unmanned fleet buildout. The company’s track record—delivering vessels on schedule despite pandemic-era disruptions—has set a high bar for performance and reliability.
Still, challenges remain. The Navy must now figure out how to integrate these vessels into a broader ecosystem of unmanned platforms, ensuring they communicate securely, operate safely alongside manned ships, and remain resilient against electronic and cyber attacks.
The $65.7 million investment is a step toward answering those questions. It funds not only more hulls but smarter hulls—refined, hardened, and mission-ready.
The story of the MCM USV is, in part, a story about technology, strategy, and geopolitics. But it’s also a story about a small town and its shipbuilders—men and women who turn sheets of aluminum into the future of naval warfare.
As Bollinger’s welders and engineers continue their work in Lockport, they’re not just building boats. They’re building resilience. They’re building deterrence. They’re building the next chapter in the U.S. Navy’s long battle against invisible threats beneath the waves.
