Saronic Technologies has secured a US Navy production contract for its 180-foot Marauder autonomous surface vessel following an eight-day evaluation at sea, gCaptain reported. The company has not disclosed the contract’s value or the number of vessels covered by the award.
The firm-fixed-price Other Transaction production award was made through the Navy’s Medium Unmanned Surface Vessel Marketplace. The procurement initiative is intended to bring commercially mature autonomous vessels into service more quickly than conventional shipbuilding programmes. Saronic was among seven companies the Navy named in May for demonstrations at sea, with successful participants becoming eligible for subsequent production awards.
According to Saronic, Marauder passed more than 140 scenarios without failure while operating continuously throughout the evaluation. These included autonomously tracking and manoeuvring around other vessels, alongside passive-perception exercises in which it had to detect, track and follow traffic without active radar. The company said it used the same vessel for consecutive tests rather than a platform specially configured for the trials.
Saronic says Marauder can carry as much as 150 metric tonnes of modular payload. Its published specifications give a maximum range of 5,400 nautical miles and a top speed above 25 knots. Co-founder and chief executive Dino Mavrookas said the vessel progressed from initial design to being afloat in less than a year.
The award expands Saronic’s Navy production work beyond its smaller, 24-foot Corsair autonomous vessel. According to gCaptain, three Corsairs took part in July strikes on Iranian naval infrastructure at Bandar Abbas. US Central Command described that operation as the first combat deployment of American sea drones.
Saronic is also pursuing conventional naval construction. It was selected alongside Conrad Shipyard and Master Boat Builders for LCU 1700 landing craft prototype agreements carrying a combined initial construction obligation of about $280.5 million, according to the Navy. Saronic intends to build its craft at Port Alpha in Brownsville, Texas, a shipyard development costing more than $3 billion that is expected to start operations in 2028.