Defence start-up Saronic has announced a partnership with shipbuilder Vigor Marine Group as it seeks to ramp up its autonomous surface vessel production plans.
The firm — which has launched a range of autonomous uncrewed surface vessel (ASV) platforms from the six-foot Spyglass to the 150-ft Marauder MUSV — has also announced it has just opened a base in San Diego. Saronic is based in Austin, Texas and also has a manufacturing facility in Franklin, Louisiana.
It said it had teamed with Vigor Marine to take advantage of its “decades of experience in complex aluminum and small vessel fabrication, ship repair, and sustainment.”
Saronic co-founder and CEO Dino Mavrookas commented: “This partnership brings together two leaders in the maritime industry to collaboratively create a full lifecycle solution that can ensure our maritime customers are mission-ready today and into the future.”
And Vigor Marine Group CEO Francesco Valente added: “With this partnership, we are aligning our core strengths to advance autonomous maritime capabilities that meet the urgent and evolving needs of our defense and commercial customers.”
Talking about its new offices, co-founder and Chief Commercial Officer at Saronic Rob Lehman said: “San Diego is a critical node in the U.S. maritime defense landscape, and we’re excited to join and contribute to this lively community.”
The firm’s West Coast base will house both missions operations and business development teams, as per a press statement.
- You can read more details on Saronic’s Medium Feed and on the Vigor website