Autonomous surface vessel garners U.S. Navy contract
NewsOctober 21, 2025
SAN DIEGO. Small uncrewed surface vessel (sUSV) startup Seasats has signed a contract with the U.S. Navy -- reported as an SBIR Phase 3 indefinite-delivery/indefinite quantity (ID/IQ) contract with a ceiling of $89 million -- to deliver its Lightfish USVs to the Marine Corps.
The U.S. Navy and Seasat announcement states that the company is tasked with providing small uncrewed vessels capable of "persistent intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance collection in the open ocean, coastal littorals and inland waterways.”
If all options are exercised, the contract will run through 2032.
Seasat also announced that it tested another sUSV during a recent multiday U.S. Navy exercise off the California coast: The Seasat "Quickfish" demonstrated top speeds over 35 knots, payload modularity, multiweek at-sea loiter endurance, a hidden aerial-vehicle launch bay, and a hull-construction method that enables nearly toolless manufacturing.
