Lockheed Martin Pumps $50M into Saildrone for Advanced Autonomous Maritime Defense Systems

Lockheed Martin today declared a $50 million investment in Saildrone, a global frontrunner in maritime autonomous systems. This strategic partnership aims to introduce commercially viable unmanned surface vehicles (USV) armed with advanced, battle-tested defense technologies. The two companies will work together with the objective of delivering integrations, including live-fire demonstrations on-water, in 2026.

Significance

This commercial alliance fuses the world’s most advanced and trusted defense technologies with the most adept and operationally validated USV technology. This synergy will be pivotal in achieving the U.S. Navy’s USV vision for essential operations including fleet defense, undersea reconnaissance, surveillance, and offensive actions. Work is set to commence immediately, employing an open architecture approach along with secure command and control capabilities to integrate Lockheed Martin’s JAGM Quad Launcher (JQL) system within the Saildrone Surveyor platform.

Bigger Saildrone vehicles are currently under development to accommodate significantly larger payloads and functions, which will integrate the Lockheed Martin Mk70 VLS launcher and thin line towed arrays.

Insights from Experts

Stephanie C. Hill, president, Rotary and Mission Systems, Lockheed Martin:

“Lockheed Martin and Saildrone are pioneering efforts in response to President Trump’s call for the defense sector to innovate and leverage collective industry expertise for national security. Together, we are merging cutting-edge commercial and defense technologies to deliver a potent naval solution swiftly and at scale. Our nation requires this capability to uphold superiority over adversaries, and we are committed to providing it.”

Richard Jenkins, founder and CEO, Saildrone:

“For the past decade, we have concentrated on enhancing the reliability, endurance, and autonomy of the Saildrone platform, validated through over 2 million nautical miles of active customer missions. With our proven and mission-ready technology, now is the opportune moment to enhance Saildrone USVs with advanced payloads tailored to warfighter requirements. This partnership will equip Saildrone with the necessary tools to elevate our platforms’ capabilities, encompassing electronic warfare, anti-submarine warfare, sophisticated surveillance and reconnaissance, while seamlessly integrating kinetic effects with Lockheed Martin’s reputed command, control, and fire control systems.”

Further Information

Rapid Deployment of Commercial Technology for Defense: Saildrone USVs have been executing intricate maritime operations in remote oceanic regions since 2013. Initially deployed by the U.S. Navy in 2021, they are currently active, collaborating 24/7/365 with American Sailors in combat zones globally. This commercial alliance will leverage Saildrone’s extensive expertise to swiftly implement new defense applications. Saildrone will retain all shipbuilding responsibilities, while Lockheed Martin will act as the primary mission integrator.

Proactive Investment and Capability Enhancement: Lockheed Martin is investing in Saildrone to accelerate and mitigate risks associated with the deployment of critical defense technologies. This investment will forge a cooperative relationship between Lockheed Martin and Saildrone’s systems integration teams to expedite the production of larger platforms and the incorporation of Lockheed Martin payloads across various platforms. Lockheed Martin is also enhancing its current products to support fully autonomous operations.

Immediate Readiness: The companies are committed to integrating ready-now, verified capabilities with Saildrone USVs, ensuring unrivaled lethality reaches warfighters as promptly as possible.

Stimulating Economic Advancement: The development of these revolutionary USVs will generate employment opportunities at Austal USA along the Gulf Coast, where Saildrone’s larger systems are manufactured. However, this initiative is not limited to one shipyard; as we expand, it holds the promise of stimulating economic development across all American shipyards and the broader maritime and defense industrial sectors.