Robot Ships on the Bayou: Acadiana Shipyards Position for the Navy's Unmanned Fleet

A stretch of U.S. 90 long associated with offshore oil-and-gas boat building is becoming a proving ground for a different kind of maritime industry: autonomous naval vessels.

New reporting from USNI News details how Louisiana shipyards from Iberia Parish through St. Mary Parish are competing for a role in the U.S. Navy's Medium Unmanned Surface Vessel program, an effort to field unmanned ships capable of carrying modular military payloads over long distances.

The Navy confirmed in May that seven companies advanced to at-sea testing in its MUSV marketplace. Among them are Saronic Technologies and Huntington Ingalls Industries, whose Louisiana-related work reaches directly into Acadiana's commercial shipbuilding base.

Breaux Brothers Builds Toward a Navy Opportunity

At Breaux Brothers Enterprises in Iberia Parish, four aluminum Romulus vessels are under construction through a collaboration with HII, according to USNI News.

The family-owned yard has spent generations building crew boats and other high-speed vessels for the offshore industry. That experience is relevant because the Navy's unmanned vessels share characteristics with the fast, durable workboats Gulf Coast yards have produced for decades.

USNI reports that Breaux Brothers currently employs about 65 people. Company president Brannon Breaux said the yard could add roughly 15 to 20 employees if Navy demand supports a production pace of one vessel every two months. The company is also considering adjacent land for expansion if orders materialize.

Those plans remain contingent on future production work. Prototype participation and testing do not guarantee a long-term Navy contract.

Saronic Scales Up in Franklin

Farther east on U.S. 90, Saronic is already making a much larger bet.

The defense-technology company acquired Gulf Craft in Franklin and is building out a roughly 300,000-square-foot expansion as it prepares for higher-volume production of autonomous vessels.

USNI reports that Saronic has hired around 300 people at the Franklin operation since acquiring a yard that had 29 employees. The company's stated goal is approximately 1,500 workers when the site reaches full operating capacity.

Three of Saronic's 180-foot Marauder vessels are under construction in Franklin, according to the report, while another vessel associated with the Navy marketplace has already departed for testing.

The Navy says companies that successfully complete at-sea MUSV testing can receive $15 million and become eligible for follow-on production. Testing is expected to conclude in October.

Conrad Keeps Another Acadiana Yard in the Race

Morgan City-based Conrad Shipyard is also part of the autonomous-vessel push through a partnership with Blue Water Autonomy.

Blue Water was not selected for the Navy's current MUSV prototype-testing round and is challenging the Navy's selection process along with Saildrone. The dispute remains unresolved. Conrad and Blue Water are nevertheless continuing work on their 190-foot Liberty autonomous vessel, according to USNI.

The broader opportunity is bigger than any single design.

Acadiana's shipyards have endured repeated offshore-energy cycles, leaving the region with experienced welders, fabricators, naval architects and production facilities that can build sophisticated vessels. The Navy is now explicitly looking beyond traditional prime contractors for additional shipbuilding capacity.

Whether that becomes a durable new industry for South Louisiana will depend on actual Navy orders.

But the work already underway from Iberia Parish to Franklin and Morgan City shows that the skills developed building boats for the Gulf of Mexico may also have a place in the Navy's autonomous future.

Source Notes

USNI News, Sept. 23, 2026: https://news.usni.org/2026/09/23/three-louisiana-shipyards-are-vying-for-a-stake-in-navys-autonomous-future

U.S. Navy, May 29, 2026: https://www.navy.mil/Press-Office/Press-Releases/display-pressreleases/Article/4503917/us-navy-announces-seven-companies-selected-for-musv-marketplace-at-sea-demonstr/

Congress Needs to Weigh Obesity as a National Security Concern

From Eastern Europe to the Taiwan Strait, the global geopolitical situation is increasingly unstable, and our long-term alliances and friendships are coming into focus. Nowhere is that clearer than in Europe, where it’s reassuring to see our allies firmly in alignment and stepping up to meet their NATO commitments. As a retired Army officer who served in West Germany, a longtime US representative to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, and an outspoken champion of this critical alliance, I’m thrilled to see the West united in this uncertain time.

But after some in Washington spent years lecturing NATO members about their treaty obligations, I’m concerned that the United States may soon be unable to fully meet our own commitments, particularly as it matters most: the ability to put boots on the ground if needed. That’s because the United States is facing a growing, and mostly unaddressed, crisis of military readiness. We have the best weapons and men and women in the uniform, but too many Americans in the cohort most likely to enlist – those 17 to 24 years of age – are unable to do so.

Read more: Congress Needs to Weigh Obesity as a National Security Concern

RELEASE: FORT POLK MASTER SERGEANT FILES SUIT AGAINST BIDEN ADMINISTRATION OVER RELIGIOUS EXEMPTION DENIAL FOR VACCINE MANDATE

New Orleans–Today, the Pelican Center for Justice filed suit against the Biden Administration in the Western District of Louisiana. The suit was filed on behalf of Master Sergeant Robert W. Galey, Jr., and seeks an injunction against the administration’s unjust COVID-19 vaccine mandate for members of the United States Army.

Driven by his Christian faith, Master Sergeant Robert W. Galey, Jr., chose a life of service in the U.S. Army. That’s why he’s given sixteen years of his life as an active-duty infantry soldier and deployed eight times to combat zones in Iraq and Afghanistan.

When the Army first told service members that they must receive the vaccine, Master Sergeant Galey began to research the production process. He discovered that the vaccine they would have to take was tested and produced in a way that violated his profession of faith. His first request for exemption was denied, as was his appeal. He received a final notice that he will be separated from the Army.

Due to his refusal to take the vaccine on religious grounds, he’s been denied training opportunities and promotions, and has now received notice that he will be discharged from the Army, which will include the loss of his retirement benefits, including pension and medical care for his family.

“Courts across America have continually ruled against the administration over this mandate, choosing to protect the religious liberty of Sailors, Airmen, and Marines who have made religious accommodation requests,” said Sarah Harbison, General Counsel at the Pelican Institute. “The Army should be no different.”

Some believe the passage of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) will render a suit of this kind unnecessary due to a provision Republicans added rescinding the military’s COVID-19 mandate. Yet even the NDAA is not preventing Master Sergeant Galey’s unit from continuing to seek his separation from the Army.

Moreover, even if President Biden does sign the bill, what cannot be forgotten is two years of damages inflicted on faithful service members who chose not to take the vaccine for the sake of their faith. Many have already been separated or had their careers permanently damaged by the loss of promotion or training opportunities and are not addressed by the NDAA.

“When the President signs the bill, the news cycle will no doubt try to move on,” said James Baehr, Special Counsel at the Pelican Institute. “Yet what will be left behind are real damages that continue to affect real people—including those who serve God and our country with the utmost devotion. What happened to Master Sergeant Galey and other men and women of principle should never happen in this country again. The Pelican Institute will not stop fighting for them.”

The suit claims these actions clearly violate the Religious Freedom Restoration Act as well as First Amendment, and Master Sergeant Galey is seeking to vindicate the law and Constitution.

“I am grateful that Congress has recognized the harm that the COVID-19 vaccine mandate is having on the Army, but the NDAA changes won’t make me whole,” said Rob Galey, “I have missed out on training opportunities, been removed from leadership, and had my orders to an important follow-on assignment deleted, all for simply expressing my faith.”

The suit was filed in the Western District of Louisiana. This is the second case in which the Pelican Center for Justice has represented a servicemember over this unjust, unconstitutional vaccine mandate.

Check Out Ashleigh Banfield's Takedown of Gregory Salcido

Photo source: Stars and Stripes

Did you see the video of the douchebag that went on a rant that downgraded the US military and the folks that serve?  This assclown has the audacity to spout that the soldiers and sailors in the world's finest military are basically dumbasses and that we shouldn't be proud of their service.  And this was done by a school teacher and a councilman from, of all places, California.

Well, Ashleigh Banfield went on an epic takedown of this clown and it was priceless.  Check this out: