1,000-mile-range drone boats to boost US Navy's strike power

The US Navy has awarded a $392 million production contract to Saronic to accelerate the deployment of autonomous drone boats, marking one of the largest Other Transaction Authority (OTA) agreements for maritime unmanned systems. Approximately half of the funding has already been obligated. This contract reflects the Pentagon’s broader initiative to shorten procurement cycles and rapidly integrate unmanned capabilities into the fleet, moving away from traditional lengthy acquisition processes. Secretary of the Navy John C. Phelan emphasized the shift from conceptual briefings to rapid prototype-to-production timelines, highlighting the Navy’s commitment to building a hybrid manned-unmanned fleet through open competition and real hardware delivery. Under the agreement, Saronic will supply its Corsair-class Autonomous Surface Vessel, a 24-foot unmanned boat with a range of about 1,000 nautical miles, a payload capacity of 1,000 pounds, and speeds exceeding 35 knots. Designed for blue-water operations, the Corsair supports missions such as maritime domain awareness, intelligence