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The Marauder is Saronic’s largest autonomous surface vessel yet.
| Source: SaronicSaronic Technologies last week announced the acquisition of Gulf Craft, a Louisiana-based shipbuilder, to accelerate its growth into autonomous shipbuilding.
The company also unveiled its latest autonomous surface vessel, or ASV, the Marauder.Austin, Texas-based Saronic said the acquisition will give it a shipyard strategically located on the Gulf Coast.
This shipyard will serve as the prototyping and production hub for its medium uncrewed surface vessel (MUSV) fleet, starting with the Marauder.Saronic said Gulf Craft gives it production capacity and establishes a foundational pillar for its growing shipbuilding enterprise.
As part of its long-term vision, the company intends to invest over $2.5 billion to develop Port Alpha — a shipyard that it claimed will produce hundreds of uncrewed vessels annually and create thousands of new jobs.In February, Saronic raised $600 million, bringing its valuation to $4 billion.“Today marks a significant milestone in Saronic’s expansion into autonomous shipbuilding and lays the foundation for our vision of our larger, next-generation shipyard, Port Alpha,” stated Saronic CEO Dino Mavrookas.
“We don’t wait — we build for what our customers need, when they need it.”“While we actively search for a home for Port Alpha, this acquisition gives us the immediate capacity to meet urgent customer needs for larger autonomous vessels and the flexibility to scale to address emerging commercial and defense applications of these advanced systems,” he added.

Marauder joins Saronic autonomous fleetMarauder is a 150-ft.
(45.7 m) MUSV that Saronic designed to support a range of missions for the U.S., its allies, and commercial customers.
It has a payload capacity of up to 40 metric tons and can travel up to 3,500 nautical miles or loiter for more than 30 days.
The company claims the vessel will provide a comprehensive capability at a fraction of the cost of legacy manned solutions.Saronic said it built Marauder to operate without any human crew.
It integrates the same autonomy stack used in the company’s existing family of ASVs.
The vessel also incorporates the company’s vertically integrated approach, disciplined engineering philosophy, and strong domestic supplier network.Saronic’s other ASVs include:Spyglass: This is a 6-ft.
(1.8 m) vessel equipped with advanced sensors and a configurable payload bay to enhance domain awareness and deliver diverse effects in contested waters.
Saronic designed it for tactical deployment, alone or in collaborative swarms, via at-sea launch and recovery from expeditionary craft.Cutlass: Saronic said this 14-ft.
(4.2 m) vessel can transmit significant distances with increased payload capacity.
It can perform various tasks for the Joint Force, including deploying loitering munitions; connecting communications nodes in adaptive C2 networks; and identifying, classifying, and tracking other surface craft.Corsair: Until now, Saronic’s largest vessel, the 24-ft.
(7.3 m) Corsair, has aimed to satisfy highly urgent and impactful operational requirements for naval and maritime forces.
It features an open modular architecture that enables rapid integration of diverse payloads, sensors and systems, according to the company.
Corsair also includes autonomous capabilities to respond to or deter threats and can be rapidly produced at scale, it said.Gulf Craft has decades of shipbuilding experienceGulf Craft brings more than 60 years of experience delivering traditional crewed ships and uncrewed vessels for commercial and defense applications.
Saronic said the acquisition provides it with the infrastructure and skilled workforce needed to develop, rapidly iterate, and scale production of Saronic’s MUSVs today and into the future.The acquisition adds nearly 100 acres (40.4 hectares) to Saronic’s footprint.
This will support both immediate MUSV development and production, as well as capacity for significant expansion, the company said.In addition, Saronic said it plans to invest more than $250 million directly into the shipyard, including facility upgrades that will enable it to “apply a first-principles approach to shipbuilding.”This includes modernizing infrastructure; acquiring new machinery; and updating the facilities while focusing on building a production system engineered for speed, scalability, and quality.
These upgrades will support a rapid capacity ramp-up, enabling Saronic to deliver up to 50 unmanned ships per year, it said.Saronic has retained Gulf Craft’s experienced workforce and expects to create more than 500 new jobs over the next three to four years.
In addition to bringing on skilled shipbuilders, welders, and electricians, the company asserted that it will create new roles for engineers, technologists, and naval architects to develop and scale production of its MUSVs.“Louisiana plays a vital role in the U.S.
shipbuilding industry, and with this acquisition, we are excited to be a part of the region’s continued industry revitalization,” said Mavrookas.
“The shipyard’s location, deep expertise, and turnkey facilities are ideally suited to allow Saronic to expeditiously develop, test, and produce its first MUSV model and advance our mission to deliver the full range of ASVs needed to support the U.S.
Navy’s hybrid fleet.”Saronic noted that its strategic expansion aligns with national efforts to revitalize the U.S.
shipbuilding industrial base.
It said its investment in next-generation infrastructure, advanced production models, and a skilled workforce mark a meaningful step toward narrowing the shipbuilding gap with China.The post Saronic unveils autonomous vessel and acquires Gulf Craft to boost production appeared first on The Robot Report.