Saronic Demonstrates Autonomous Surface Vessels for US Navy during Integrated Battle Problem 24.1
AUSTIN, TX — April 8, 2024 — Saronic, a defense technology company dedicated to redefining maritime superiority, announced the successful demonstration of its Spyglass and Cutlass Autonomous Surface Vessels (ASVs) during the U.S. Navy’s Integrated Battle Problem (IBP) 24.1 exercise.
IBP 24.1 marked the first live demonstration of Cutlass — a 14-foot ASV designed to transit significant distances with increased payload capacity — at a naval exercise. The second model in Saronic’s family of systems, Cutlass is built to perform critical roles for the Joint Force, including deploying third-party payloads or kinetic/non-kinetic effectors, connecting communications nodes in adaptive Command and Control (C2) networks, and identifying, classifying, and tracking other vessels of interest.
During the exercise, Saronic showcased Cutlass’ ability to integrate a third-party payload to deliver user-defined effects. Working in collaboration with Anduril, Saronic installed an Anduril ALTIUS loitering munition onto the 14-foot vessel. Saronic and Anduril were then able to characterize maritime launch conditions for ALTIUS aircraft during initial sea trials. The integration demonstrated how Cutlass can be used to extend the launch point of aerial drones while addressing networking challenges common to naval operating environments.
“Maritime communication systems face multiple obstacles, including limited bandwidth, dynamic vessel environments, and vulnerability to interference and jamming,” said Saronic co-founder and Vice President of Software, Vib Altekar. “At IBP 24.1, Saronic demonstrated how Cutlass can help overcome these challenges to extend C2 networks and relay information on the water to provide commanders with enhanced warfighting capabilities.”
Saronic also demonstrated new capabilities for Spyglass, its 6-foot vessel, during the exercise. Spyglass is Saronic’s first product and is equipped with advanced sensors and a configurable payload bay to enhance domain awareness and deliver diverse effects in contested waters. It is designed for tactical deployment, alone or in collaborative swarms, via a variety of launch and recovery methods, both from ashore and expeditionary craft.
Saronic showcased Spyglass’ capacity to effectively operate in high sea states, both during day and night operations. After launching off a US Navy platform, multiple Spyglass ASVs operated collaboratively to clandestinely detect and track a vessel during nighttime intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) operation. Navy operators were able to control multiple Spyglass ASVs from a single user interface utilizing beyond line of sight (BLOS) communications. During the exercise, Spyglass routed communications via redundant RF pathways to establish and maintain a network for coordinated teaming behaviors, while passive onboard sensors and significant edge compute enabled object detection and identification. The effort demonstrated how an attritable sUSV can perform critical functions in an operational environment.
In developing its ASVs, Saronic employs a modular open software architecture (MOSA) that is designed around microservices, architected to support diverse payloads, and compatible with common C2 programs. With a focus on system interoperability at IBP 24.1, Saronic successfully integrated Cutlass and Spyglass with Anduril’s Lattice software, which was used as the C2 program across the exercise.
“We are proud of our work integrating Lattice with a variety of unmanned systems at IBP 24.1 to enable resilient, robust, and low-latency command and control of heterogeneous multi-domain unmanned systems. Saronic was a great mission partner at the exercise, seamlessly integrating Anduril hardware and software to achieve mission objectives,” said Tom Keane, SVP of Engineering at Anduril Industries. “Anduril’s software development kit enabled the Saronic team to integrate with Lattice independently, demonstrating the flexibility and extensibility of the Lattice platform.”
Saronic’s ability to interoperate with third-party technology was further demonstrated during IBP by supporting a rapid experimentation effort with the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering’s (OUSD(R&E)) Rapid Defense Experimentation Reserve (RDER). RDER is a funding and prioritization mechanism aimed at fast-tracking the development and deployment of critical defense technologies that promise significant operational impact.
Saronic’s technical expertise, well-architected systems, and software flexibility expedites rapid hardware and software integration to support multi-domain operations. Working closely with the Technology Readiness Experimentation (T-REX) Team that is part of RDER, Saronic was able to complete the hardware integration of an experimental solution within a matter of hours and the software integration in less than a day on both Cutlass and Spyglass. Throughout the process, the T-REX Team provided immediate feedback and enabled quick adjustments while evaluating the operational efficiencies and effectiveness of the solution to ensure it could meet the complex demands of the mission. This culminated in a joint demonstration in which the T-REX Team controlled heterogenous unmanned systems simultaneously using an adaptable and scalable network.
“At Saronic, we were honored to participate in this critical exercise and have the opportunity to test our capabilities in partnership with the Navy and other innovative companies working to bring cutting-edge technology to the warfighter and assure Naval dominance in the 21st century,” said Saronic CEO, Dino Mavrookas. “We are redefining an entire class of maritime capabilities with vessels that are built for autonomy from the keel up. These exercises create the conditions that let us test and improve as quickly as possible with constant forward momentum.”
Led by U.S. Pacific Fleet (PACFLT) and orchestrated by U.S. 3rd Fleet, IBP 24.1 took place off the coast of Southern California and provided the U.S. Navy with the ability to analyze, simulate, prototype, and demonstrate multi-domain unmanned systems to implement into future fleet operations. IBP 24.1 was the fourth iteration under the PACFLT Experimentation Plan, which is focused on testing and developing unmanned capabilities “above the sea, on the sea and below the sea” that contribute to a stronger naval force, further driving capabilities to significantly reduce the risk to personnel in hostile environments.
For more information on how we are redefining maritime superiority, please visit us at Saronic.com.
