Saronic raises $55M to develop drones for the US Navy

American company Saronic has raised funding of about $55 million to develop marine drones Corsair and scale the production of Spyglass and Cutlass. These drones are equipped with remotely updateable software and can carry a variety of payloads in environments where there is no communication or GPS. The drones are designed for autonomous navigation and decision-making in real time in the marine environment, as well as for other actions in swarm groups.

Spyglass is equipped with sensors and a compartment for a customizable payload. The drone is designed for reconnaissance and the execution of specific missions. The range of the drone reaches 30 nautical miles, the maximum speed is about 15 knots.

Cutlass is ready to move away from the carrier ship at a distance of up to 300 nautical miles with a maximum speed of up to 20 knots. The drone carries payloads weighing up to 90 kg and can act as a reconnaissance vehicle, a repeater, and even a platform for launching loitering munitions.

The key advantages of the drones are the minimal costs at all stages of the life cycle and the serious potential for scalability. The drones are designed to eliminate the bottlenecks and weaknesses of traditional American shipbuilding.

Source: therobotreport.com; image source: saronic.com

Ocean Aero Moves to Gulfport and Prepares to Scale Up Production

Ocean Aero is known for its production of original underwater and surface vehicles, Triton. These electric boats, powered by photovoltaic batteries, can sail under a built-in sail on the surface of a river or sea, and, folding the sail, move underwater in submarine mode.

Photo: Ocean Aero

With such characteristics, Triton is undoubtedly a multi-purpose device - it is used with equal enthusiasm by both the scientific community and the military. The devices can collect various data in both surface and underwater states, be used for covert reconnaissance or for striking.

Photo: Ocean Aero

Now, it seems, the interest in Ocean Aero products has grown precisely from the military. So far, the company has produced 46 of its AUSVs, increasing its staff from 17 to 65 employees. The move from San Diego, California to Gulfport, Mississippi is related to further scaling. The plant in Gulfport allows, if necessary, to increase the staff to 500 people, which would allow the production of up to 600 Triton vehicles per year.

Photo: Ocean Aero

Brief characteristics of the device:

  -  working depths - up to 100m

  -  surface speed: 5+ knots

  -  in semi-submerged state: 2+ knots

  -  weight: 350 kg

  -  length: 4.4 m

  -  from the waterline to the top of the mast - 3 m

  -  from the keel to the waterline - 1.5 m

  -  hull width - 0.8 m

  -  battery power - 4 kWh

  -  solar panel power: 470 W (300 W + effective)

  -  payload (in the hull) - 22.7 kg

  -  payload (wing) - 11.3 kg

  -  autonomous use time on the surface - 14-30 days;

  -  autonomous use time in submerged state: 8+ days (at minimum power)

  -  ability to work in waves up to 3 points

  -  ability to survive in waves up to 5+ points

👉  Youtube 

Source: WDAM ; Ocean Aero 

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