Defense tech startup Saronic Technologies has unveiled its third autonomous surface vessel (ASV).
The 24-foot (7.31-meter) Corsair is the largest ASV launched by the Texas firm, followed by the 14-foot (4.2-meter) Cutlass and the 6-foot (1.8-meter) Spyglass, both unveiled earlier this year.
All the platforms have been designed to fulfill the operational requirements of the US Navy and its allies “to deter adversaries, and serve as a force multiplier.”
Saronic has focused largely on the Pentagon’s Replicator program, which intends to acquire swarms of thousands of expendable unmanned platforms to deter a potential invasion of Taiwan by China.
“Corsair is the answer to our maritime forces’ need for an attritable autonomous platform that can be delivered to the fight in the hundreds or thousands without compromising on reliability, performance, or capability,” Saronic co-founder and CEO Dino Mavrookas said.
“With Corsair, we are ready to help the Navy realize its vision of a hybrid fleet of manned and unmanned systems.”
Corsair Autonomous Surface Vessel
The unmanned platform can travel for 1,000 nautical miles (1,852 kilometers/1,151 miles) without refueling at a top speed of 35+ knots (65+ kilometers/40+ miles per hour).
It can carry a payload of up to 1,000 pounds (453 kilograms), supporting a wide range of blue-water missions — “from maritime domain awareness to delivery of kinetic and non-kinetic effects.”
According to Saronic, vertical integration of hardware, software, and artificial intelligence allows the platform to be produced at scale, resulting in lower costs.
The company is planning to produce “hundreds” of the new vessels in anticipation of demand, Breaking Defense quoted Mavrookas as saying ahead of the announcement.
“We’re building five prototypes, all of which are currently in development,” he said.
“We have done live demonstrations already with end users, and we are moving and ramping into high-rate production and manufacturing as we speak. So, we will be building hundreds and hundreds of Corsairs next year with the ability to scale that into the thousands.”