DARPA Picks Saronic for Semi-Autonomous Vessel Protection Program
•February 11, 2026
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Companies Mentioned
Why It Matters
The program could dramatically reduce the cost and footprint of maritime security, preserving sea lines of communication while enabling commercial vessels to benefit from autonomous protection. Success would accelerate adoption of autonomous systems across defense and civilian maritime sectors.
Key Takeaways
- •DARPA selects Saronic for Pulling Guard program
- •Focus on modular, autonomy-enabled escort vessels
- •Design includes standardized hardware and digital interfaces
- •Program targets scalable protection for logistics ships
- •Concept adds “protection as a service” for commercial fleets
Pulse Analysis
The U.S. Navy’s traditional reliance on high‑end warships to guard supply routes is increasingly untenable as global trade volumes expand. DARPA’s Pulling Guard program addresses this gap by championing a distributed protection model that fuses commercial‑grade autonomy, command‑and‑control, and sensing. By shifting the burden from a few expensive platforms to a fleet of smaller, semi‑autonomous escorts, the initiative promises to safeguard critical sea lanes while freeing up capital‑intensive assets for higher‑priority missions.
Saronic’s involvement centers on creating a modular vessel architecture that can be rapidly reconfigured for emerging threats. Standardized physical ports and open‑source digital interfaces enable plug‑and‑play integration of radar, lidar, electronic‑warfare suites, and kinetic effectors. This hardware‑software decoupling supports an iterative development cycle, allowing the platform to evolve alongside advances in AI navigation and threat detection. The modularity also simplifies logistics, as components can be swapped or upgraded without extensive shipyard overhauls, reducing downtime and lifecycle costs.
Beyond the immediate defense application, the program’s “protection as a service” concept could reshape commercial maritime security. Shipping operators may subscribe to autonomous escort services during high‑risk transits, extending the benefits of military‑grade protection to civilian fleets without owning the hardware. If successful, the Pulling Guard model could catalyze broader adoption of autonomous maritime technologies, driving innovation across shipbuilding, sensor manufacturing, and data analytics sectors, and ultimately redefining how the world secures its oceans.
DARPA picks Saronic for semi-autonomous vessel protection program
Saronic has been selected to support the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s (DARPA) Pulling Guard program, an initiative aimed at developing and demonstrating semi-autonomous escort systems to enhance the survivability of unarmed logistics vessels against emerging threats.
The US Navy has traditionally protected key transit routes using high-end assets such as guided missile destroyers and carrier strike groups, an approach that is increasingly unsustainable at today’s scale.
DARPA’s Pulling Guard program aims to provide a more scalable, distributed model for maritime protection by leveraging advances in low-cost commercial technologies in command and control, autonomy, and sensing.
Saronic will participate in the program under Focus Area 2 (FA2), where it will focus on designing an autonomy-enabled, modular vessel to address maritime security challenges.
Specifically, the company will work on the design and development of the Pulling Guard platform, focusing on the creation of a modular, autonomy-enabled vessel with standardized physical and digital interfaces to support integration with a variety of sensors and effectors/
With modularity at both the software and hardware levels, the platform’s design should enable rapid iteration to address evolving threats and regulations, it was noted. In alignment with DARPA’s iterative development model, Saronic will focus on contributing to a collaborative design cycle that matures capabilities from concept through delivery, enabling rapid integration, testing, and refinement.
Moreover, the firm will also work to devise transition pathways that enable Pulling Guard capabilities to endure beyond the program, including concepts for “protection as a service” that support commercial shipping in peacetime and logistics operations during conflict.
“The aims of the program align with our mission to rapidly design and deploy autonomous maritime systems that fundamentally change how maritime security is delivered,” said Rob Lehman, Co-Founder and Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) at Saronic.
“We look forward to being a part of a program that could help unlock revolutionary advances in autonomous maritime operations while enabling a more resilient and adaptable approach to protecting critical sea lines of communication and commerce.”
Related Article
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INTERVIEW: Advancing autonomy at sea – Saronic Technologies on ASVs, production and shipyard expansion
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The post DARPA picks Saronic for semi-autonomous vessel protection program appeared first on Naval Today.
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