U.S. Naval Special Warfare (NSW) operators, soldiers from Australia’s Special Operations Command, and United Kingdom Royal Marine Commandos from 42 Commando maneuver rigid-hull inflatable boats and Combatant Craft Assault boats for Visit, Board, Search and Seizure training during exercise Talisman Sabre 25 in New South Wales, Australia, July 8, 2025. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class David Rowe) (Portions of this image have been blurred to protect operator identity)
TAMPA, Fla. — The US special operations family of combatant craft is set to receive a significant number of improvements as they are upgraded to “hyper-enable Naval Special Warfare operators,” service officials disclosed.
Representatives from the Program Executive Office-Maritime, led by Capt. Jared Wyrick, listed multiple efforts to enhance combatant craft assault (CCA), combatant craft medium (CCM) and combatant craft heavy (CCH) as well as initial designs for next-generation vessels.
Combatant craft are used to enable the insertion and extraction of small teams, as well as maritime assault, interdiction and resupply, even in contested environments.
Naval Special Warfare currently operates 42 CCAs, but Wyrick said it will task the US Special Operations Command’s innovation office, SOFWERX, to launch a solicitation later in the year to identify a mission management solution for the in-service craft. This will include the addition of an open system architecture to facilitate the “integration and aggregation of sensors,” functioning as a single “pane of glass to reduce cognitive overload” on operators, Wyrick said.
