Wall-climbing robots to inspect US Navy ships in $71M AI push

The U.S. Navy has awarded Gecko Robotics a five-year contract worth up to $71 million to deploy AI-driven robotics for faster and more accurate maintenance inspections on naval ships. Initially focusing on 18 ships in the Pacific Fleet, the contract aims to address maintenance delays that can sideline vessels for months, thereby improving fleet readiness toward the Navy’s goal of 80 percent readiness by 2027. Gecko’s technology uses wall-climbing robots, drones, and fixed sensors to gather detailed structural data from hard-to-access areas of ships, including hulls and internal components. This data is processed by AI to create digital models that detect visible and hidden defects, enabling maintenance teams to identify and prioritize repairs up to 50 times faster than manual inspections. This initiative represents a broader Navy effort to modernize defense infrastructure by leveraging advanced technologies to reduce operational risks and lower maintenance costs. Gecko’s system also supports predictive maintenance by analyzing wear patterns, shifting the Navy from reactive repairs to data-driven decision-making that minimizes unexpected