L3Harris invests in small, autonomous maritime drone from Seasats
NewsOctober 20, 2022
MELBOURNE, Florida. L3Harris Technologies has made a "strategic investment" in Seasats, which designs and produces solar-powered maritime autonomous surface vehicles (ASV) for both military and commercial use, the company announced in a statement.
Specifically, L3Harris wants to accelerate production of Seasats' X3 micro-ASV, which the company says is difficult to detect by sight or radar due to its design and low-signature waterline. L3Harris believes the ASV will complement its large- and medium-sizezd ASV products, the statement reads.
The X3 would be used for missions such as counter-piracy, mine-clearing, electronic warfare, and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR).
L3Harris noted that the U.S. Navy invited Seasats to participate in its Digital Horizon 2022 exercise to develop maritime domain awareness, and that a Navy official recently said that the service wants 100 unmanned surface vessels patrolling the Arabian Peninsula by next year.
