The Marine Corps is betting big on dispersed operations across the Pacific's island chains to deter China. Small teams on austere outposts, armed with long-range missiles and sensors, form the core of this shift. Yet keeping those forward positions supplied in a contested environment remains the toughest challenge. Blue Water Autonomy believes its new autonomous ships can solve that problem, delivering the sustainment Marines need without exposing crews to enemy fire.
Austin Gray, co-founder and chief strategy officer of Blue Water Autonomy, sees a direct line from his company's Liberty Class vessels to the Marine Corps' evolving role. "These ships are built for the exact kind of persistent presence the Marines require in the first island chain," Gray told Military.com.
They operate independently for months, carry heavy payloads, and scale in numbers that traditional manned fleets cannot match.
Marine Corps Force Design Focuses on Agility and Distribution
The Marine Corps has spent the past six years reshaping itself under Force Design. Leaders divested legacy heavy equipment like tanks and short-range artillery. They stood up Marine Littoral Regiments, reorganized aviation and logistics, and cut overall end strength by about 12,000 Marines. The goal remains a leaner, more lethal force optimized for naval integration in high-threat littorals.
Expeditionary Advanced Base Operations (EABO), sits at the heart of that vision. Small, low-signature Marine teams set up temporary bases on islands or atolls. From there, they conduct sea denial with anti-ship missiles, gather intelligence, and support fleet operations. These stand-in forces operate inside an adversary's weapons engagement zone, relying on mobility, concealment and minimal footprint to survive.
Logistics has always been the key link in such concepts. As former Commandant of the Marine Corps, General David Berger, said after initiating his Force Design vision:
As I have said numerous times … logistics is the pacing function.
Vast distances, limited port infrastructure and constant threat of long-range strikes make traditional resupply convoys vulnerable. Unmanned surface vessels offer a way around that friction: persistent, attritable platforms that can shuttle fuel, ammunition, food and water directly to forward positions while manned ships stay farther back.
For more on the Marine Corps' ongoing modernization, see the October 2025 update on Force Design changes.
Liberty Class Designed for Scale and Endurance
Blue Water Autonomy unveiled the Liberty Class in February 2026, a 187-foot steel-hulled autonomous ship developed in partnership with Dutch shipbuilder Damen. The design draws on a proven patrol vessel hull but replaces crew spaces with modular payload bays, advanced autonomy systems and robust power generation for long-endurance operations.
Key specs include more than 10,000 nautical miles of range, speeds over 25 knots, and a payload capacity of approximately 150 tons, enough for four 40-foot shipping containers or a mix of missiles, sensors and fuel bladders. The vessel targets two to three months of operations without human maintenance. Level 4 autonomy handles navigation, and collision avoidance even in heavy seas.
Gray, a former Navy intelligence officer who previously served aboard carriers, emphasized the open-ocean focus. In his interview with military.com he discussed how Blue Water did not design their ships for calm coastal waters only. The axe-bow hull and commercial-grade systems give them the seakeeping to cross blue water and then loiter in the littorals where Marines need support.
Construction of the first hull is slated to begin this month at a U.S. shipyard, with delivery targeted for late 2026. Blue Water aims for production rates of 10 to 20 vessels per year once scaled, a pace that could provide the fleet with affordable mass.
Autonomous Resupply Transforms EABO Sustainment
In a Pacific fight, Marine units on remote islands may need resupply every few days or weeks. Manned logistics ships face missile threats and require escorts. Liberty Class vessels change that equation. They can transit autonomously from rear-area hubs, approach EABO sites under cover of darkness or bad weather, and offload at small piers even in otherwise austere locations.
The flexibility of modular loading capabilities gives the Liberty Class a huge advantage over legacy platforms. One configuration might carry fuel bladders and ammunition. Another could deliver spare parts, medical supplies or even small unmanned aerial vehicles for the Marines. Because the ships require no crew, commanders can accept higher risk profiles, sending multiple vessels on parallel routes to complicate enemy targeting.
Gray highlighted the operational tempo advantage, acknowledging that Marines on EABO bases cannot afford to wait for weather windows or escort availability. The ships keep moving even in Sea State 7 (up to 30-foot waves), providing a continuous flow that turns temporary outposts into persistent threats for adversaries.
Unmanned logistics could reduce demand on amphibious ships significantly in distributed scenarios, freeing those hulls for higher-priority missions.
ISR and Potential Fires Extension Add Layers
Beyond cargo, Liberty Class ships can carry sophisticated sensor suites for persistent intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. They can therefore extend the eyes and ears of Marine littoral regiments far beyond line-of-sight from shore bases. Data links can relay information back to Marine command nodes or directly to Navy destroyers operating farther offshore.
Future iterations could integrate vertical launch cells for missiles, turning the vessels into mobile, low-cost strike platforms. Even without weapons, they serve as decoys or communication relays, complicating adversary targeting cycles.
This multi-role capability aligns with the Marine Corps' push for all-domain integration. A single Liberty Class sortie could simultaneously deliver 100 tons of 155mm rounds to one island while providing real-time targeting data to Marines on another.
Mass Production Revitalizes Shipbuilding Edge
Blue Water's approach addresses a broader strategic shortfall. The U.S. shipbuilding industrial base has atrophied for decades, leaving the Navy struggling to grow fleet numbers against China's rapid expansion. By using commercial shipyard techniques, modular construction and software-heavy autonomy, Liberty Class vessels promise dramatically lower costs, roughly one-tenth the price of a traditional frigate for comparable mission days at sea.
Gray pointed to the economic multiplier:
Every hull that Blue Water delivers creates jobs in American yards and reduces reliance on foreign supply chains
It also serves a critical warfighting capability: it gives combatant commanders the numbers required for distributed operations across thousands of miles of ocean.
Path Ahead for Navy-Marine Team
As the Marine Corps continues refining Force Design through exercises like those in the Philippines and Japan, Blue Water Autonomy positions its vessels as a natural partner. The Liberty Class does not replace Marines or sailors; it multiplies their reach and resilience.
In the end, success in the Pacific will hinge on sustaining presence where it matters most. Unmanned fleets that can cross vast distances, deliver critical cargo and linger in harm's way give the joint force exactly that edge. Gray and his team are building the tools; the services now face the task of weaving them into concepts proven on the water.
The first Liberty Class prototypes will enter testing later this year. If they perform as advertised, the Marine Corps' expeditionary bases may soon draw steady support from a silent, crewless fleet operating just over the horizon.
