Autonomous Vessel Company Buys Metal Shark

The Miami-based autonomy startup Magnet Defense has acquired longtime aluminum-hull patrol boat builder Metal Shark, maker of a wide range of high-speed boat classes for domestic and overseas government customers. In a statement, Magnet said that it intends to use Metal Shark's advanced fabrication capabilities to create "a leading supplier of AI-enabled unmanned surface vessels."

The target customer, according to Magnet Defense, is the U.S. Navy and its new "golden fleet" project. An accompanying illustration released by the firm shows a design for a catamaran- or trimaran vessel with an expanded deck area, not unlike an Austal EPF in hull form, size and material, but with an OSV's aft working deck instead of an enclosed cargo space.

A separate design presented in December - dubbed the M48 - shows a more conventional monohull layout. Magnet said at the time that the M48 had spent more than a year at sea and completed 32,000 nautical miles of transit in conditions up to Sea State 9.

Both designs are laid out for containerized, flexible payloads, the preferred format for the Navy's Medium Autonomous Surface Combatant (MASC) program.

Magnet said that by acquiring a mature and well-equipped shipbuilder, it will be able to move quickly from prototype development to production of autonomous platforms. Metal Shark has been building defense and law enforcement boats for 20 years, including about 600 units for the Coast Guard and 500 for the Navy.

The company's strategy aligns with its competitors in a hotly-contested new market. Anduril Industries has invested millions to acquire and revamp a disused shipyard in Seattle, where it will build and test prototypes. Saronic recently bought the Gulf Craft shipyard in Franklin, Louisiana and is investing $300 million in upgrading its facilities for production.

Other technologists are contracting with existing shipyards to get construction done, without taking on the business of owning and running their own vertically-integrated yard. Boston-based Blue Water Autonomy has signed a production agreement with Conrad Shipyard, a longtime workboat and dredger builder in Conrad City, Louisiana, for a "fleet-scale" line of unmanned vessels. Greenroom Robotics, an Australian autonomy firm, is taking a fully vessel-agnostic approach to competing in the U.S. market, supplying an AI platform for a diverse array of ship designs, naval architects and shipbuilders.