# Court Expands Review of Navy OTA Awards

The U.S. Court of Federal Claims ruled that it can review certain Other Transaction Authority (OTA) awards when they are connected to full procurement programs. The court ordered the Navy to reevaluate Saildrone for the **$2.1 billion** Medium Unmanned Surface Vessel (MUSV) program, while upholding the Navy’s decision not to advance Blue Water Autonomy. The ruling makes the scope and documentation of OTA selection decisions more consequential for agencies and contractors involved in defense acquisitions.

- OTA awards tied to full procurement programs may face court review; this ruling does not establish that every OTA award is reviewable.
- Contractors pursuing OTA-funded opportunities should preserve clear records of selection criteria, evaluations, and compliance decisions, as the signal advises.
- The Navy must reevaluate Saildrone for MUSV, but the ruling leaves its decision not to advance Blue Water Autonomy in place.

**Jurisdictions:** federal
**Industries:** Defense & Military
**Topics:** Contracting Vehicles
**Published:** November 10, 2026

### Government Entities
- U.S. Navy (Navy)
- U.S. Court of Federal Claims (COFC)
- U.S. Department of Defense (DoD)

### Vendors
- Saildrone (MUSV competitor and protester ordered to be reevaluated)
- Blue Water Autonomy (MUSV competitor and protester; Navy decision not to advance it was upheld)
- Saronic (OTA awardee for robotic surface craft and the LCU-1700 landing ship program)

### Key Quotes
> has broad procurement protest jurisdiction over any objection to a solicitation, proposed award, award, or alleged violation of statute or regulation ‘in connection with a procurement or proposed procurement,’ which includes ‘all stages of the process of acquiring property or services, beginning with the process for determining a need for property or services.
> — Judge Philip Hadji, U.S. Court of Federal Claims

### Sources
- [Saildrone, Blue Water Autonomy Ruling Adds Restrictions to OTA Funding Model - USNI News](https://news.usni.org/2026/11/10/saildrone-blue-water-autonomy-ruling-adds-restrictions-to-ota-funding-model) - USNI News