Navy opens carrier drone competition with eight-mission family RFI
The Navy issued a Request for Information on July 14 seeking autonomous drones for Ford and Nimitz carriers across eight missions, signaling a wholesale shift from manned air wings to mixed autonomous fleets.
Saronic Wins $392M Navy Contract for Autonomous Surface Vessels
Texas startup Saronic Technologies secured a $392M+ Navy production contract for autonomous maritime drones by mid-2031, marking the largest scale-up yet for a non-traditional vendor in undersea autonomy.
Anduril's Copperhead-500M Changes the Undersea Autonomy Game
Anduril released footage of its Copperhead-500M autonomous underwater munition hitting speed records in April 2026, six weeks after winning a Navy CAMP contract to deploy it from its Dive-XL submarine — the first credible link between carrier vehicle and payload in commercial undersea autonomy.
Shield AI Enters Navy's $800M ISR Contract Pool With V-BAT
Shield AI won selection to compete for up to $800 million in U.S. Navy COCO ISR task orders using its V-BAT vertical-launch drone, marking a program-of-record entry against established competitors like AeroVironment and Textron.
Shield AI wins Navy COCO contract, enters program of record
Shield AI secured a same-day program-of-record entry with the U.S. Navy for contractor-operated ISR services using its V-BAT drone, competing for task orders under an $800 million multi-vendor ceiling alongside AeroVironment, Insitu, and Textron.