California-based defense firm Seasats has booked more than $24 million in committed orders for its unmanned surface vessels (USVs) in a single month.
The deals cover vessel purchases and Robot-as-a-Service contracts for the US Navy, US Marine Corps, and other national security customers.
Under the service model, Seasats operates and maintains the drone boats on behalf of government agencies to provide persistent sensor coverage.
The funding spans nine orders, partly executed under an existing $89-million Small Business Innovation Research contract, and represents direct allocation rather than vehicle ceiling caps.
The latest awards bring the company’s total secured customer contracts to more than $100 million.
“This isn’t funding to explore the use of autonomous systems years from now. These are customers putting real dollars behind capability they can deploy today,” Seasats CEO Mike Flanigan stated.
“Small, long-endurance USVs solve an increasingly relevant problem: how do we maintain persistent awareness at sea, at scale, and at range.”
Lightfish at the Center
Military demand centers on the company’s Lightfish technology, an 11-foot (3-meter) solar-powered drone boat designed for long-range surveillance and maritime domain awareness.
The platform features modular payload bays capable of carrying cameras, sensors, and sonar systems.
Weighing 360 pounds (163 kilograms), Lightfish can be transported in a pickup truck and launched by two operators from a boat ramp.
The vessel can remain at sea for up to six months and has already completed long-range transits across the Pacific and through the Taiwan Strait.
