GULFPORT, Miss.—When two U.S. Army soldiers needed to be rescued after their helicopter went down in the Strait of Hormuz off the coast of Oman, the U.S. military sent an autonomous surface vessel—better known as a drone boat—to do the job.
The drone rescue, completed by the Saronic Technologies Corsair-class, was the first publicly recorded instance of an autonomous vessel being used for a rescue mission. In July, another Corsair was used to strike a submarine and ship maintenance facility at the Bandar Abbas Naval Base in Iran, which was the first time American military forces have publicly acknowledged the use of an autonomous vessel in combat operations.
Saronic Technologies has brought its operations to Mississippi. The company announced at the Roger F. Wicker Center for Ocean Enterprise on Aug. 9 that it has opened a testing site for its autonomous vessels, also known as drone boats, in Gulfport, Mississippi.
Rob Lehman, Saronic’s co-founder and CCO, called the expansion of operations in Mississippi a “major milestone” for the company and announced plans to test the company’s 180-foot vessel, the Marauder, at its newly established Gulfport site.
“Autonomous technology is a true paradigm shift,” Lehman said.
Saronic Technologies designs and manufactures “autonomous surface vessels,” also often called maritime drones, for commercial and military operations. The company is based in Austin, Texas, with multiple facilities across the country, with the latest in Gulfport.
From Design to Testing
Rob Lehman said Saronic vessels have fully autonomous systems and are equipped with a level of compute and autonomous logic that allows the platforms to operate independently for a month or more at a time and adapt to every scenario that those platforms encounter.
Saronic primarily designs three types of autonomous surface vessels: Corsair, Mirage and Marauder. Corsair is a 24-foot ASV with multi-mission capabilities. Mirage is a 52-foot ASV with diverse maritime operations capabilities. Marauder, which is being tested in Gulfport, is a 180-foot ASV designed for logistics and at-sea payload deployment.
Lehman said the Marauder went from blueprint to on-water testing in less than a year, with testing beginning in May. He said this has been the fastest new construction for a vessel of its size in the United States since World War II.
The Marauder arrived in Gulfport in mid-July and has logged over 300 hours on the water.
Saronic’s team goes out anywhere from a few days to even weeks at a time to test the systems in Gulfport. At minimum, the vessel is on the water seven days a week for 12 hours a day. Lehman said Saronic plans to continue the testing process as long as the ship is in the water since Saronic performs continuous testing for its vessels.
Saronic’s technology is distinct from others on the market because it does not require any level of remote-controlled command to operate, although Lehman said remote-control capabilities are incorporated as a backup safety measure.
“We focus on the autonomous capabilities for these platforms to actually go do the dull, dirty, and dangerous work without requiring people,” Lehman said.
Why Gulfport?
Lehman said Saronic chose Gulfport as its newest testing site for a combination of reasons that include the leadership at the Port of Gulfport and support from state and local government.
“All the stakeholders in Gulfport were welcoming, supportive with a problem-solving and partnership mindset,” Lehman said.
U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker, who has been a key advocate for Saronic, said its site in Gulfport will lead to more high-paying jobs for Mississippi residents.
“We in Mississippi are contributing to the defense and safety of American citizens,” Wicker said.
Bill Cork, the chief economic officer for the state of Mississippi, said he believes autonomous maritime systems represent the next chapter for American shipbuilding.
“For generations, Mississippians have built ships that protect our nation and move commerce around the world,” Cork said. “In our maritime industry, the impressive work taking place right here has earned Mississippi a reputation for excellence.”
Jon Nass, the CEO of the Port of Gulfport, told the Mississippi Free Press on Aug. 18 that with the rapid pace at which the autonomous vessel space is growing, the port expects jobs in the autonomous vessel sector to be “particularly abundant on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.”
“Over the last decade, the Port, the State of Mississippi, and USM invested in an ecosystem to support exactly the type of activity that is materializing today,” Nass said.
He said supporting the growth of the blue economy is a core mission of the port.
“We look forward to working with our partners to continue growing this industry, among others, for years to come.”
Kelly Lucas, the vice president for research at the University of Southern Mississippi, said the Wicker Center for Ocean Enterprise is part of a larger blue economy, meaning the sustainable use of ocean resources to drive economic growth and collaboration for blue technologies. She said researchers at the university partner with companies like Saronic in the autonomous vessel and maritime space to help test, develop and evaluate their technologies.
Lucas said USM has been specializing in unmanned systems, ocean engineering and marine science for many years and operates in many locations across the coast doing ocean and marine science research.
“The blue economy continues to grow and automate and innovate,” Lucas said. “Mississippi has had a piece of that—it’s our cultural heritage already. This is a new blue economy; it’s just applying this innovation.”
Environmental and Safety Compliance
Kelly Lucas said part of USM’s maritime and ocean research also tracks the environmental impact of this testing. She said when researchers run tests, they’re able to see not only the impact of the sensor on the environment but also the impact of the environment on the sensor.
“Anything you do, you’re picking up the environmental signatures from them as well,” Lucas said.
U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker said he’s “very concerned” with protecting the Mississippi Sound and thinks it’s important for companies that use the port to comply with the necessary environmental laws and regulations. However, he said he’d also like to see some regulatory roadblocks eased.
“I think easing regulatory roadblocks, making sure there’s one approval process so you’re not in court over and over again with different issues is also important,” Wicker said.
Lehman said Saronic partners with the Coast Guard, American Bureau of Shipping and other regulatory agencies to ensure all its vessels meet safety requirements and are environmentally compliant prior to building.
“We take safety and regulatory compliance extremely seriously,” Lehman said.
Use in U.S. Naval Operations
Rob Lehman said Saronic takes best practices from the commercial industry and applies them in a military construct to build vessels that can support U.S. naval operations in a variety of ways. The ships operate as a sort of “utility knife,” he said, meaning commanders are able to swap out a variety of payloads and cargo to support a broad set of missions.
“We are operating platforms that give commanders the ability to move cargo and other payloads in a containerized fashion, across vast distances, alongside other naval ships, or on their own independently,” Lehman said.
Lehman said Saronic is focused on leveraging autonomous platforms to bring the shipbuilding industry back to the United States, as other countries have been outbuilding the U.S. in production scale.
Sen. Roger Wicker said he’s “particularly mindful” of China’s maritime industry as the country is able to out-build the United States at a large scale.
“They build 200 ships for every one that we roll out each year,” Wicker said.
Lehman expressed excitement about how autonomous vessels can “change the paradigm” by bending the cost curve and bringing the industry back to the United States.
“We are really excited that there is a maritime revival,” Lehman said. “I think the White House and Congress and the Department of War and the Department of Commerce are all in lockstep on this.”
President Donald Trump and other lawmakers have expressed support for rebuilding the commercial shipbuilding industry in the United States. On Aug. 13, the White House issued a memorandum directing the Department of Defense to pursue more direct investments in the American shipbuilding industrial base.
Although Saronic’s technologies have the ability to perform entirely autonomous missions that might otherwise require members of the Navy, Lehman said he views the company’s technology as “complementary” to how the Navy, Coast Guard and military operate today.
“People are not going away as part of this process,” Lehman said. “We’re focused on reducing the risk profile and increasing efficiencies.”
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