Sea Machines wins five-year US special operations vessel-autonomy contract

Date: 2026-09-08
Type: ARTICLE
Desk: Robotics
Topics: Autonomous Vessels, Defense Contracts, Maritime Logistics, Remote Operation
Deck: The IDIQ provides a procurement route for rapidly installed autonomy kits, building on Sea Machines’ SM300 control systems and third-party mission interfaces.
URL: https://korthosrobotics.com/research/sea-machines-special-operations-vessel-autonomy-idiq-2026
Referenced profiles: Sea Machines Robotics (https://korthosrobotics.com/ecosystem/company/sea-machines-robotics)

Image: Sea Machines Robotics
Sea Machines Robotics announced a five-year IDIQ contract with US Special Operations Forces on 8 September 2026, covering commercially developed autonomy kits for existing vessels. The indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity arrangement establishes a procurement framework for systems supporting expeditionary logistics, intelligence and surveillance, and maritime security.
The company describes the kits as deployable within hours across craft of different sizes and performance characteristics. They use its Autonomous Command and Control system to add remote and autonomous operation to vessels available in theatre. Sea Machines classifies the technology as TRL 9, indicating an operationally proven system.
Sea Machines had opened SM300 integration to third-party command systems in September 2025. SMLink Streaming passes vessel telemetry and data to external software, while SMLink Control lets approved partners command autonomy functions from their own mission applications. The interfaces support both the SM300-SP, intended for smaller attritable vessels, and SM300-NG for more complex classed-vessel projects. At that announcement, the company reported more than 200 SM300 deliveries across 20 countries.
Its earlier US Marine Corps autonomous low-profile vessel programme uses SM300 in the Sea Specter, a 65-foot semi-submersible logistics craft developed by Leidos and Gibbs & Cox. Sea Machines supplies autonomous navigation, collision avoidance and remote command for line-of-sight and over-the-horizon operations. The company said the vessel had been field-tested since 2023, including at Project Convergence Capstone 4.