Saildrone and Lockheed Martin launched two joint air-to-ground missiles from an unmanned surface vessel during the US Navy's Rim of the Pacific exercise off Hawaii.
Sponsored by the US Navy fleet experimentation program, the operation represented the first missile firing from one of Saildrone's autonomous surface platforms.
Operating in coordination with the USS Theodore Roosevelt carrier strike group, the 20-metre (66-foot) craft acted on target data for a surrogate high-speed surface vessel using the navy's adjunct remote engagement system.
Equipped with a bow-mounted missile launcher, the autonomous vessel maintained situational awareness through radar, electro-optical and infrared sensors, machine-learning detection, passive acoustics, and automatic identification systems.
The live-fire test capped six months of joint development between the companies following a strategic partnership formed in October 2025.
During the exercise, the platform also deployed a passive electronic warfare sensor alongside an MH-60 aircraft to detect, classify, and identify a surrogate threat radar system.
The trial serves as a step toward integrating weapons systems onto a larger 52-metre (170-foot) autonomous vessel currently under construction. Designed to weigh approximately 300 tonnes with full payload and reach speeds of up to 30 knots, the larger craft features a concealed payload deck holding up to five 20-foot (6.1-metre) containers or two 40-foot (12.2-metre) containers.
Future plans for the larger vessel include integrating the Lockheed Martin Mk 70 launcher and towed arrays to support anti-submarine warfare operations.
