KORTHOS / ECOSYSTEM / PRODUCT

Lightfish

About

About Lightfish

Lightfish is a compact solar-electric autonomous surface vessel designed for deployments reaching six months and 8,000 nautical miles. A hybrid reserve system maintains propulsion during extended low-sun conditions, while the self-righting hull operates in seas reaching state six.

Collision avoidance, GPS-denied navigation and redundant communications support remote maritime operations. Modular payloads attach through standard mechanical and electrical interfaces for intelligence, survey, science and security missions. The vessel is portable enough for hand launch and can be operated in distributed fleets.

Capabilities

Source-backed capabilities

  • Operating environments: Taiwan Strait transit, Coastal and offshore waters
  • Control modes: Autonomous
  • Long-range autonomous transit

    Demonstrated - 2026-05-27 - Seasats Lightfish completes autonomous Taiwan Strait transit

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  • Long-range autonomous transit

    Demonstrated - Completed a five-day autonomous transit of the Taiwan Strait. - environment: Taiwan Strait transit

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  • Long-range autonomous transit

    Claimed - 2025-07-30 - Seasats autonomous surface vessel crosses the Pacific and completes a 7,500+ mile mission

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  • Perimeter patrol

    Claimed - Patrol a maritime area for security monitoring. - environment: Coastal and offshore waters

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  • Autonomous surface transit

    Claimed - Follow long-duration routes across coastal and offshore waters. - environment: Coastal and offshore waters

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Operations

  • Order / Commitment

    US$24 million APFIT award - 2026-01-15 - U.S. Department of War - autonomous surface vessel fielding - Seasats received a $24 million APFIT award to accelerate procurement, production, and scaling of its autonomous surface vessels, including Lightfish-led defense programs.

    Source
  • Order / Commitment

    US$89 million IDIQ - 2025-10-07 - U.S. Navy / Marine Corps - autonomous maritime systems procurement - Seasats was awarded an $89 million SBIR Phase III IDIQ contract tied to Navy and Marine Corps demand for autonomous maritime systems.

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Deployments

  • Operating Use

    10 vessels in current border-monitoring pilot - 2026-10-02 - Reuters reports ten vessels being tested in the Pentagon border-monitoring pilot; potential expansion is not an awarded order.

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Timeline

  • Seasats Lightfish border pilot informs possible Pentagon vessel expansion

    2026-10-02 - Market Signal - Ten vessels are currently being tested after the pilot began in January. A possible Gulf radar-monitoring network would extend from Texas to Key West. The proposed expansion is incremental and vendor-agnostic; no additional Seasats award is confirmed.

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  • Seasats books more than $24M of Lightfish orders

    2026-09-04 - Contract Award - The disclosed total represents funded customer commitments rather than ceiling values on contract vehicles. The order mix includes direct Lightfish procurement and Robot-as-a-Service contracts for long-endurance maritime autonomy. Seasats identified the U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Navy among the customers receiving Lightfish systems for multiple mission sets.

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  • Seasats Lightfish completes autonomous Taiwan Strait transit

    2026-05-27 - Capability - The Lightfish crossed the full length of the Taiwan Strait over five days while monitoring vessel traffic. Its onboard cameras captured imagery of Chinese naval vessels during the transit. The voyage exercised long-range autonomous maritime surveillance in a contested, high-traffic operating environment.

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  • Seasats awarded $24M APFIT funding to accelerate fielding of autonomous surface vessels

    2026-01-15 - Contract Award - The $24 million APFIT award was recommended by the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps to accelerate procurement, production and scaling. Seasats said the funding would expand production and speed delivery of maritime capability to military users. The selection followed an $89 million SBIR Phase III contract and operational demonstrations in U.S. and allied waters.

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  • Seasats and Elysium EPL sign reseller agreement for autonomous surface vessels in Australia and New Zealand

    2025-11-12 - Partnership - Seasats signed a formal reseller agreement making Elysium EPL its exclusive reseller in Australia and New Zealand. The agreement covered regional sales, integration, and front-line support, building on operational work that achieved AMSA certification for Lightfish in Australian waters. The partnership created a structured route into allied regional markets instead of relying only on direct U.S. sales.

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  • Seasats awarded $89M U.S. Navy SBIR Phase 3 IDIQ contract

    2025-10-07 - Contract Award - The $89 million SBIR Phase III IDIQ supports Marine Corps uncrewed-surface-vessel efforts through Naval Information Warfare Center Atlantic. Multiple Lightfish vessels had operated in NATO’s BALTOPS 2025 exercise before the award. The contract announcement also cited Lightfish operations for maritime security in Argentina and scientific work in Australia.

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  • Seasats autonomous surface vessel crosses the Pacific and completes a 7,500+ mile mission

    2025-07-30 - Capability - A Lightfish completed a fully autonomous voyage from San Diego to Japan covering more than 7,500 miles over 150 days. The route included stops for demonstrations in Hawaii and Okinawa and captured imagery near Wake Island and Guam. Seasats said Lightfish units had been in use with U.S. Navy and commercial customers worldwide since early 2023.

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  • Seasats secures $10M funding round amid rising demand for autonomous vessels

    2025-02-05 - Funding - Shield Capital led a $10 million financing round for Seasats, with participation from Aero X Ventures and Techstars. The company tied the round to hiring and international sales expansion as demand increased for its Lightfish autonomous surface vessel. The round was an early financing step before the larger contract, award, and Series A milestones that followed.

    Source

Context

Market context

Lightfish is Seasats long-endurance autonomous surface vessel for persistent maritime missions including intelligence, survey and security patrol.

  • Target environment: Coastal and open-ocean maritime environments.
  • Workflow context: Persistent maritime surveillance, intelligence collection, survey and security patrol using autonomous surface vessels.
  • Customer context: Defence customers and maritime security operators needing persistent USV capability.
  • Deployment model: Commercial autonomous surface vessel with defence and security applications.
  • Commercial maturity: Commercially available USV with defence and maritime security adoption.
  • Adoption constraints: Limited to surface operation. Speed and endurance depend on sea conditions.
  • Market position: A portable modular USV for persistent maritime missions including intelligence, survey and security patrol.
  • Adjacent products: Quickfish, Heavyfish, maritime USVs

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