Another week, another (two) new boats from Saronic. Yesterday, the unmanned surface vessel (USV) company unveiled two new models — the 40-foot Mirage and the 60-foot Cipher.
According to the company, the boats have been designed with extended range and up to 10,000 pounds of carrying capacity. Saronic CEO Dino Mavrookas said that the new models help meet the US military’s need for a whole range of unmanned vessels, from small boats up to giant warship-like drones.
“The future of maritime dominance depends on the rapid adoption of these technologies — and achieving that future will require a diverse range of [automated surface vessels],” Mavrookas said.
We told you maritime autonomy was all the rage.
I’m on a boat: Yesterday’s announcement comes just a week after Saronic bought Louisiana-based Gulf Craft and unveiled plans for a 150-foot warship-like USV called Marauder.
The company now has a total of six USV models. Mirage, Cipher, and Marauder join Saronic’s OGs:
- The six-foot Spyglass
- The 14-foot Cutlass
- The 24-foot Corsair
Saronic says that Mirage and Cipher will be a big step up from these models, however:
- Mirage will have a range of over 2,000 nautical miles and 2,000 pounds carrying capacity, which is double that of Corsair.
- Cipher will have a range of 3,000 nautical miles and carry up to 10,000 pounds.
The company says both boats will be built around its in-house autonomy stack, and will be designed to scale quickly. Saronic did not specify where the boats would be produced.
Up and up: 8VC-backed Saronic has had a major glow-up this year. In February, the company announced a $600M Series C, bringing its valuation to $4B — up from $1B last year. With that funding, the company vowed to build a shipyard of the future — called Port Alpha — within five years, but a location and timeline for the facility have yet to be announced.
In March, the company also joined Palantir’s Warp Speed program, which leadership said would help them to scale operations.