Theodore Roosevelt CSG integrates MDUSV Seahawk
- U.S. Navy photos and reporting show Carrier Strike Group 9 training with the medium unmanned surface vessel Seahawk on April 19 in 3rd Fleet. - The 135-foot Seahawk was locally teleoperated by Unmanned Surface Vessel Division 13, and Military Sealift Command recently refueled it at sea. - The work follows Navy plans to deploy a medium USV with Theodore Roosevelt under a new “tailored force pairing” model. (breakingdefense.com)
A medium unmanned surface vessel called Seahawk trained with the Theodore Roosevelt carrier strike group on April 19, giving the Navy its clearest public sign yet of a planned 2026 deployment pairing. (dvidshub.net) (breakingdefense.com) The Navy photo identified the operator as Robotics Warfare Specialist 1st Class Jesse Osborne of Unmanned Surface Vessel Division 13, controlling Seahawk through a local teleoperated control system in the Pacific. The caption said the unit was conducting advanced training in U.S. 3rd Fleet to bolster strike group readiness and capability. (dvidshub.net) Seahawk is one of the Navy’s first autonomous medium unmanned surface vessels, alongside Sea Hunter. The Navy says both prototypes are about 41 meters, or roughly 135 feet, long and are used as distributed sensor platforms for maritime domain awareness and anti-submarine warfare. (navy.mil) In plain terms, the ship is a drone boat built to scout farther from the carrier group than a crewed ship can comfortably be risked. Its job is to feed back data so destroyers, cruisers and aircraft can see more ocean without putting sailors on every hull. (navy.mil) (militarytimes.com) Vice Adm. Brendan McLane said on February 12 that a medium unmanned surface vessel would deploy alongside Theodore Roosevelt later this year as the Navy tests “tailored force pairing.” He said the service would study that pairing first, then decide what unmanned mission packages fit the next carrier strike group. (breakingdefense.com) Capt. Garrett Miller said in January that Seahawk and Sea Hunter would move from experimentation to fleet operations in 2026, with Seahawk joining a carrier strike group. He said the vessels had to “keep up with a strike group” and could not remain an “experimentation piece.” (militarytimes.com) (navalnews.com) That requirement is why the Navy recently rehearsed refueling Seahawk at sea with the oiler USNS Guadalupe off Southern California. Military Sealift Command called the demonstration critical for deployed USV operations supporting carrier forces, and Miller said the deployment is meant to extend the strike group’s maritime awareness. (navalnews.com) Theodore Roosevelt’s workup has also drawn attention because Navy budget documents describe rapid fielding of Longbow Hellfire and Coyote counter-drone launchers for the Theodore Roosevelt and Gerald R. Ford carrier strike groups. The War Zone reported those launchers are being installed and integrated as the fleet responds to one-way attack drone threats highlighted by Red Sea operations. (twz.com) The War Zone separately reported on April 26 that Theodore Roosevelt’s current training includes Seahawk integration and possible testing tied to those new launchers. That outlet said a Navy spokesperson confirmed the strike group was working up in 3rd Fleet, while open-source tracking showed a wider burst of naval drone activity off California. (twz.com) Carrier Strike Group 9 is built around USS Theodore Roosevelt, Carrier Air Wing 11, Destroyer Squadron 23 and cruiser USS Chosin. If Seahawk deploys with that formation later in 2026, the Navy will be testing whether a drone scout can become a routine part of how a carrier strike group sails and fights. (surfpac.navy.mil) (breakingdefense.com)
