VIDEO: Saildrone USV Fires JAGM Missiles
[video courtesy Saildrone]Saildrone and Lockheed Martin demonstrated a new armed autonomous naval capability during RIMPAC 2026, successfully launching two Joint Air-to-Ground Missiles (JAGM) from a Saildrone Surveyor unmanned surface vessel (USV) off Hawaii.The live-fire exercise marked the first missile launch from a Saildrone platform, moving the commercially derived USV beyond its established intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and ocean-mapping roles into kinetic operations.Conducted under the U.S. Navy Fleet Experimentation Program (FLEX), the demonstration involved the USS
NEC to Establish Underwater Acoustic Platform Model
Japan’s NEC Corporation has been awarded a contract for "Research on Underwater Acoustic Foundation Models Using Self-Supervised Learning (Part 1)," with a focus on dual-use applications, as part of a program conducted by the Defense Innovation Science and Technology Institute of Japan’s Agency for Defense Equipment.NEC has commenced research on this project and aims to complete development of a foundation model by fiscal year 2027.The project involves training a model on vast amounts of underwater acoustic data to build a world-leading foundational model for underwater acoustics.
Falcon Eye Technology and Norbit Security Win Underwater Security Contract
Falcon Eye Technology has been awarded a contract to integrate NORBIT Security Sonars for the protection of a prominent cultural venue in the Abu Dhabi.The end-user’s security team also selected Norbit sonar systems to protect its waterfront facility.Norbit’s portfolio of security sonars enables them to secure a complex perimeter across a mix of ultra-shallow and deeper water environments, offering the ability to detect, track, and respond to potential underwater threats.
Hybrid Navy Extravaganza
said: “If the last few years of conflict have taught us anything, it is that we will not win the wars of the future with the platforms of the past.” The nation’s ability to deter future conflict or to prevail, if necessary, will benefit from high quantities of low-cost air, surface and subsea unmanned systems. These will be used for close-range reconnaissance or one-way strike missions along with lower numbers of high-cost sophisticated systems with surveillance and/or mid- to long-range strike capability.Kraken Technology Group is one of many companies ready with solutions. Anduril will
Greensea IQ Launches Autonomous Hull and Infrastructure Inspection Robot
Greensea IQ has introduced Bayonet Sweep, an autonomous underwater robot designed to search and inspect ship hulls and underwater structures.Bayonet Sweep provides navies, security teams, and port and harbor authorities with a rapid and effective way to inspect ship hulls without placing divers in the water.Where routine hull inspection focuses on maintenance, Bayonet Sweep is specifically built for force protection. It provides a complete data workflow for security, threat assessment, and mitigation.Operators can launch a vehicle, detect a hull anomaly, classify a threat, inform the operator, and
Romulus USV Passes Critical Military Test
HII has announced that the U.S. Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) has officially recognized the successful completion of the company’s production-ready, inexpensive, maritime expeditionary (PRIME) prototype project.The prototype features the Watcher small unmanned surface vessel (sUSV), which is based on HII’s Romulus-25 USV and powered by HII’s Odyssey autonomous control system.The DIU recognition follows HII’s delivery and successful sea testing of two autonomous Watcher Romulus-25 vessels in December 2025 under a DIU contract to develop smaller-form-factor autonomous surface
Raytheon’s HADALUS UUV Performs for U.S. Navy
Raytheon and Composite Energy Technologies (CET) have successfully demonstrated the undersea launch capabilities of HADALUS, a new, low-cost, long-endurance unmanned undersea vehicle (UUV).During a recent U.S. Navy exercise, the UUV completed a series of at-sea missions on a Navy undersea test range, successfully demonstrating its undersea launch capabilities while submerged. This marks the first time the U.S. Navy has seen this integrated capability in the water and points toward a future where a single unmanned undersea platform can perform detect, reacquire and engage functions within one mission.
Singapore Navy Deploys RTsys COMET-MCM AUVs for Mine Warfare
RTsys Underwater Technologies, the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) and the Defence Science and Technology Agency (DSTA) announced the operational deployment of several COMET-MCM autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs), designed to detect and identify naval mines. This deployment marks a milestone in the modernization of the Singapore Navy's mine countermeasures capabilities.The Singapore Strait is one of the world's most strategic maritime routes. Nearly 150,000 ships pass through it each year (three times more than the strait of Hormuz), making this area a vital link in international trade.
Smaller Footprint, Broader Missions: How CHASING ROVs Expand Subsea Inspection Capabilities
Professional lightweight ROVs are moving beyond visual observation to support positioning, 3D modeling and nondestructive testing—without the deployment footprint of a work-class system.Subsea inspection has traditionally relied on commercial divers, large work-class ROVs and small camera platforms. A growing number of routine missions now fall between those categories.Operators may need to inspect a platform node, follow several kilometers of pipeline or return to the same wind foundation for comparison months later. These jobs demand stable maneuvering, professional sensors and traceable data
August 2026
