U.S. Firm Blue Water Autonomy Unveils Liberty-Class Autonomous Surface Vessel for U.S. Navy.

U.S. Company Blue Water Autonomy on February 11, 2026, unveiled the Liberty Class, a 190-foot autonomous surface vessel designed for long-endurance unmanned operations with the U.S. Navy. The company says the platform is production-ready under a Navy program of record, signaling a shift from experimental USVs to fielded fleet assets.

U.S. Company Blue Water Autonomy unveiled its Liberty-Class autonomous surface vessel on February 11, 2026, introducing a 190-foot steel-hulled ship designed for extended unmanned operations in support of the U.S. Navy. Unlike earlier technology demonstrators, Liberty is presented as a production-ready platform, with construction scheduled to begin in March 2026 at Conrad Shipyard in Louisiana and delivery expected later this year under a Navy program of record. The vessel is intended to expand fleet capacity for distributed maritime missions while reducing reliance on crewed surface combatants. Company officials position the design as an operational asset aligned with the Navy’s evolving unmanned force structure.
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Liberty Class is a 190-foot (57.9 m) autonomous surface vessel developed by U.S. company Blue Water Autonomy for the U.S. Navy, featuring a Damen Stan Patrol 6009 hull with Axe Bow design, over 10,000 nautical miles of range, and more than 150 metric tons of modular payload capacity for missile, sensor, and logistics missions. (Picture source: Blue Water Autonomy)

Measuring 190 feet (57.9 m) in length, the Liberty Class offers an operational range exceeding 10,000 nautical miles and a payload capacity of more than 150 metric tons. This combination of endurance and lift capacity places it squarely within the Navy’s vision for medium unmanned surface vessels, where autonomous ships operate as distributed nodes carrying sensors, strike systems, or logistics modules. Navy planners have repeatedly emphasized the need for such platforms to support distributed maritime operations in contested theaters, particularly in the Indo-Pacific, where distances and attrition risks demand resilient, networked assets.

The hull is based on Damen’s Stan Patrol 6009 design, incorporating the distinctive Axe Bow configuration. The near-vertical bow geometry reduces hydrodynamic slamming and improves seakeeping by slicing through waves, enhancing stability and fuel efficiency during extended deployments. With more than 300 Axe Bow vessels already in service worldwide, the design provides a proven maritime foundation. By leveraging this established steel hull, Blue Water Autonomy minimized naval architecture risk and concentrated engineering efforts on reconfiguring internal systems for fully autonomous operations.

Engineers redesigned the propulsion and power management architecture to support months-long deployments without an onboard crew. The vessel integrates fault-tolerant propulsion systems and automated control networks that can isolate mechanical failures and reroute power with limited human oversight. Machinery health-monitoring and remote supervisory interfaces are embedded in the autonomy suite, enabling shore-based operators to oversee operations. At the same time, the vessel maintains independent navigational and engineering decision-making at sea. While optimized for uncrewed missions, the ship can accommodate a limited onboard technical detachment during transit phases, system validation, or mission reconfiguration, providing flexibility in early operational deployments.

With a payload capacity of more than 150 metric tons, Liberty can accommodate modular mission packages tailored to evolving operational requirements. Potential configurations include containerized missile launch systems, electronic warfare suites, ISR sensor arrays, or logistics resupply modules. Such modularity aligns with Pentagon efforts to create flexible unmanned platforms capable of augmenting destroyers, amphibious ships, and carrier strike groups without imposing additional workforce burdens. In high-threat scenarios, vessels of this class could serve as forward sensor pickets, decoys, or supplementary missile carriers, complicating adversary targeting and increasing the survivability of crewed capital ships.

Construction at Conrad Shipyard leverages an industrial base already experienced in building complex commercial and government vessels. The Louisiana-based yard operates five facilities and produces more than 30 ships annually, supported by advanced automated panel lines and welding processes that enable parallel builds. Blue Water Autonomy has indicated that, following delivery of the lead ship, it aims to transition into serial production at a rate of 10 to 20 vessels per year, drawing on established U.S. supply chains and scalable manufacturing practices. The program has been developed entirely with private capital, reflecting the Pentagon's growing encouragement of industry-funded innovation that accelerates acquisition timelines and reduces early government risk exposure.

The vessel’s name deliberately references the Liberty Ships of World War II, evoking the rapid production and industrial mobilization driven by strategic necessity. In a period marked by fleet size debates and rising procurement costs for crewed combatants, the Liberty Class represents a concrete attempt to inject additional hull numbers and distributed capability into the Navy’s force structure.

From Army Recognition’s editorial analysis, the strategic relevance of the Liberty Class extends beyond a single ship design. The U.S. Navy faces simultaneous structural pressures: sustaining forward presence in the Indo-Pacific, deterring near-peer competitors with expanding naval forces, and managing personnel recruitment and retention challenges. Autonomous surface vessels like Liberty directly address these constraints by multiplying operational nodes without increasing crew requirements in proportion. A traditional surface combatant demands hundreds of sailors; an uncrewed vessel supervised by a shore-based control team composed of mission commanders, autonomy operators, and engineering specialists dramatically reduces that workforce footprint while preserving operational reach.

For the U.S. Navy, integrating ships of this type is important both operationally and strategically. Distributed Maritime Operations and Joint All-Domain Command and Control concepts depend on resilient, networked platforms capable of sensing, communicating, and, if required, delivering effects across vast ocean spaces. A 57.9 m autonomous vessel with 10,000 nautical miles of range can reposition rapidly between theaters, escort logistics convoys, extend ISR coverage, or operate as an adjunct missile magazine for larger combatants. In potential high-intensity conflict scenarios in the Pacific, such assets could complicate an adversary’s targeting cycle by increasing the number of distributed, low-signature nodes at sea.

If upcoming integration trials confirm endurance, autonomy, reliability, and secure integration into Navy combat networks, the Liberty Class could signal a structural evolution in U.S. naval force design. Rather than replacing crewed ships, platforms like Liberty are poised to complement them, forming a hybrid fleet in which manned and uncrewed vessels operate as a cohesive combat system. In that context, the introduction of the 190-foot (57.9 m) Liberty Class may prove less a technological milestone than a strategic inflection point for the future of U.S. maritime power.

Written by Alain Servaes – Chief Editor, Army Recognition Group
Alain Servaes is a former infantry non-commissioned officer and the founder of Army Recognition. With over 20 years in defense journalism, he provides expert analysis on military equipment, NATO operations, and the global defense industry.