Lockheed Martin has announced a $50 million investment in Saildrone, a company specializing in maritime autonomous systems. The partnership aims to deliver unmanned surface vehicles (USVs) equipped with advanced defense technology for military use. Both companies plan to begin integrating Lockheed Martin’s JAGM Quad Launcher system onto the Saildrone Surveyor platform, with live fire demonstrations scheduled for 2026.
The collaboration is designed to support the U.S. Navy’s goals for using USVs in missions such as fleet defense, undersea surveillance, reconnaissance, and attack. Larger Saildrone vehicles are also being developed to carry more substantial payloads, including the Lockheed Martin Mk70 VLS launcher and thin line towed arrays.
Stephanie C. Hill, president of Rotary and Mission Systems at Lockheed Martin, stated: “Lockheed Martin and Saildrone are leading the way to answer President Trump’s call for the defense industry to act differently and leverage the strength of all of industry for our national defense. Together, we are combining the most sophisticated commercial and defense technologies to deliver a lethal naval solution at speed and scale. The nation needs this capability to maintain dominance over our adversaries, and we will deliver it.”
Richard Jenkins, founder and CEO of Saildrone, said: “For the last 10 years we have focused on evolving the reliability, endurance and autonomy of the Saildrone platform, which has been demonstrated in over 2 million nautical miles of active customer missions. With our technology proven, de-risked and mission ready, now is the right time to augment Saildrone USVs with sophisticated payloads to meet warfighter needs. This collaboration will give Saildrone the tools we need to transform the capabilities of our platforms, to include electronic warfare, anti-submarine warfare, sophisticated surveillance and reconnaissance, as well as deploying kinetic effects, all seamlessly integrated with Lockheed Martin’s trusted command, control and fire control systems.”
Saildrone USVs have been conducting complex maritime missions since 2013. They were first used by the U.S. Navy in 2021 and continue operating alongside American sailors worldwide around-the-clock. Through this relationship with Lockheed Martin serving as lead mission integrator while Saildrone maintains shipbuilding responsibilities, new defense applications can be fielded quickly.
Lockheed Martin’s investment is intended not only to accelerate deployment but also reduce risks associated with introducing new technologies into operational settings. The collaboration will also create jobs at Austal USA on the Gulf Coast where larger Saildrones are produced; as production scales up it could stimulate economic growth across other American shipyards and within both maritime and defense industries.
Further details about Lockheed Martin can be found at its official website: https://www.lockheedmartin.com/.
Saildrone continues advancing autonomous maritime operations by leveraging artificial intelligence and advanced sensors for persistent intelligence gathering at sea.
Forward-looking statements regarding future events or benefits from this partnership are subject to risks detailed in Lockheed Martin's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (https://www.sec.gov/), which may be accessed via their Investor Relations page (https://www.lockheedmartin.com/en-us/investors.html).
