US EditionTomahawk missiles planned aboard sea drones in latest Lockheed deal
The Pentagon is investing $50 million to arm Saildrone’s largest autonomous vessels with Lockheed Martin’s missile systems to counter China’s naval power in the Pacific.
- On Wednesday, the Pentagon-backed plan announced Lockheed Martin will invest $50 million to arm Saildrone's largest USVs with missiles, planning live-fire demonstrations in 2026, the companies said.
- Since 2021, Saildrone has supported U.S. Navy surveillance, deployed 20 Voyager USVs, logged over 2,000,000 nautical miles, and shifted focus toward defense with senior military leaders onboard.
- Lockheed will serve as lead mission integrator while Saildrone maintains shipbuilding responsibilities, integrating Lockheed’s JAGM quad launcher onto the Surveyor platform, with plans for larger vehicles to carry Mk70 VLS and towed sonar arrays.
- Development work will create jobs at Austal USA and could scale to other U.S. shipyards, while Richard Jenkins called the shift transformational and Stephanie Hill said the capability is needed to maintain dominance over adversaries.
- $5,000,000,000 in appropriations has prompted the development of larger Saildrone vehicles in development, fitting the Navy hybrid fleet concept and integrating Lockheed Martin architecture for encrypted control.
25 Articles
25 Articles
Tomahawk missiles planned aboard sea drones in latest Lockheed deal
Lockheed Martin is investing $50 million in sea drone maker Saildrone to help equip its biggest surveillance drones with missiles, marking the first time the long-distance autonomous ships will carry high-powered missiles aboard.
Lockheed Deal Will Give Sea Drones Tomahawk Strike Capability
Lockheed Martin is investing $50 million in Saildrone to equip its surveillance drones with missiles, marking the first time these autonomous ships will carry high-powered missiles. This plan follows the Pentagon’s efforts to counter China’s naval power and lessons from Ukraine’s use of sea drones against Russia. Saildrone’s 72-foot “Surveyor” ship will be modified to […] The post Lockheed Deal Will Give Sea Drones Tomahawk Strike Capability app…
Lockheed, Saildrone launch partnership to arm USVs
Lockheed Martin will invest $50 million into uncrewed surface vessel maker Saildrone with the goal of arming and delivering commercially available USVs to the Navy, the companies announced today. Under the partnership, Lockheed will integrate weapon systems onto Saildrone USVs to support Navy missions including fleet defense and attack. Initial work will include integrating Lockheed’s Joint Air-to-Ground Missile (JAGM) quad launcher onto Saildro…
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