Birdon America and Mythos AI yesterday announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding at Sea-Air-Space 2026 to collaborate on the development and pursuit of Medium Unmanned Surface Vessel opportunities in support of emerging United States Navy operational and acquisition requirements.

Under the collaboration, Birdon America will contribute its maritime platform, integration, and program execution capabilities, while Mythos AI will serve as the autonomy provider, contributing autonomous navigation, perception, command and control, and mission software capabilities designed to be integrated into mission‑ready unmanned surface vessel platforms.

“Birdon is focused on delivering mission-ready maritime capability for demanding defense environments,” said Tony Ardito, President at Birdon.

“Our strategy is centered on building scalable, production ready capacity for the future defense market, and selecting Mythos AI as our autonomy provider is an important part of that vision. By combining expanded shipbuilding capability with advanced autonomy, we aim to offer scalable mission-capable unmanned systems for defense customers,” he said.

Geoff Douglas, CEO of Mythos AI said “This collaboration reflects the growing need for mature autonomy capabilities that can be integrated into mission ready maritime platforms for defense customers.”

Mr Douglas added “Birdon brings deep experience in delivering maritime engineering solutions, proven program execution across the defense sector, and we are excited to work together on a solution that can support the Navy’s evolving MUSV requirements.”

The parties intend to collaborate on a vertically integrated autonomous vessel solution designed for rapid prototyping, demonstration, and transition into production of a mission-capable MUSV within this calendar year.

The collaboration is expected to focus on prototype development, demonstration activities, technical integration, production planning, and future efforts aligned with relevant U.S. Navy and broader defense opportunities.