Navy moves to buy autonomous maritime drones from Saronic via $392M OTA
Texas-based defense startup Saronic Technologies will produce multiple batches of autonomous maritime drones for the U.S. Navy by mid-2031 under an other transaction agreement (OTA) worth more than $392 million, according to officials and public contracting documents viewed by DefenseScoop.
Details are sparse regarding the specific features, types and quantities of unmanned vessels Saronic will deliver — but they’ll likely mark a major component of the Navy’s AI-enabled, hybrid fleet that’s being designed to counter security threats in and around the Pacific.
OTA contract vehicles offer Defense Department buyers more flexibility and speed than traditional Federal Acquisition Regulation-based acquisitions. They’re a key element in the Navy’s broader plan to modernize and incentivize accelerated technology adoption to prepare for future fights.
According to records posted on the Federal Procurement Data System, Naval Sea Systems Command and Saronic Technologies formalized this $392 million OTA — which has a completion date of May 30, 2031 — on May 16.
Two months later, in July, NAVSEA made an award to Saronic worth nearly $197 million under the agreement, or about half of the total award ceiling. It’s unclear if more awards have been made to date.
The product service code information is defined as “small craft.”
Saronic manufactures a variety of modular autonomous surface vessels (ASVs), which are AI-powered unmanned surface vessels (USVs). Its systems can operate independently or together as drone swarms.
The company has engaged in multiple research and development agreements that expanded to include operational trials with the Navy, since its launch in 2022. The veteran-run startup has also purchased several drone manufacturing facilities around the U.S. so far this year, and recently unveiled plans to build a high-tech, domestic shipyard — dubbed Port Alpha — with support from high-dollar funding rounds.
Prior to this recent contract, Saronic secured prototype OTAs with the Pentagon’s Defense Innovation Unit for a deal worth more than $26 million that expires Sept. 1. The company also landed a separate agreement worth more than $8 million to provide prototype ASVs for U.S. Special Operations Command, which concluded in July 2024.
Spokespersons from Saronic, DIU and the Pentagon did not respond to DefenseScoop’s requests for more information on Friday about the recent OTA.
A Navy official verified the FPDS records’ accuracy, but declined to share further details about the quantities, products, delivery dates, or other factors of the award.
Separately, the sea service also recently moved to accelerate the production of its Global Autonomous Reconnaissance Craft, or 16-foot GARC — a USV built by BlackSea Technologies — that was originally contracted through the DOD’s Small Business Innovative Research program.
