Overview
- Ghostworks unveiled MRLN at the Pennsylvania Defense and Innovation Summit on Tuesday, July 14, 2026, describing it as a retrofit mission‑management layer that keeps a human operator in the loop while a single uncrewed hull switches between missions.
- The product is the result of a three‑way partnership: Ghostworks supplies the 40‑ft Minerva M‑Hull, General Atomics Aeronautical Systems adapted aerial autonomy and sensors for maritime use, and Mercury Marine provided drive‑by‑wire propulsion and Command Gateway controls.
- Company‑reported performance figures say a Minerva equipped with MRLN can carry about 17,500 pounds of payload, cruise at 30 knots, and operate in sea state 4, but those specifications have not been independently verified.
- Ghostworks pitched MRLN as a modular alternative to buying multiple single‑purpose vessels, aiming at budget‑conscious naval planners in a crowded market that already includes firms such as Saronic and MARTAC with large production contracts.
- If validated, MRLN could let commanders reconfigure one craft for ISR, logistics resupply, mine countermeasures, communications relay, or littoral combat support and keep sailors farther from contested coastal risks, though adoption will depend on independent testing and contract awards.