Two crew members of a US Army Apache helicopter, which was downed near the Strait of Hormuz in the Middle East, were rescued by an autonomous drone boat developed by a Texas-based defence technology company co-founded by Indian-American engineer Vibhav Altekar.
The rescue was carried out by the drone boat Corsair, developed by Saronic Technologies, in what is being described as the first known use of an unmanned surface vessel by the US Armed Forces to recover personnel at sea.
US Central Command spokesman Captain Tim Hawkins said on Tuesday that it was the first US rescue conducted using an autonomous surface vessel remotely operated by a human operator. The US military has previously relied on aerial unmanned systems, but this marks a significant expansion of autonomous capabilities into maritime personnel recovery.
The 24-foot-long Corsair is a diesel-powered autonomous surface vessel capable of speeds of up to 35 knots, with a payload capacity of up to 1,000 pounds and a range of more than 1,000 nautical miles. The system is part of the Pentagon’s broader effort to deploy unmanned platforms alongside traditional naval assets for surveillance, logistics, and operational missions.
Saronic Technologies, headquartered in Austin, Texas, was founded in September 2022 by former Navy SEAL Dino Mavrookas along with co-founders Doug Lambert, Rob Lehman, and Vibhav Altekar.
According to the company’s LinkedIn profile, it holds a $392 million production contract with the US Navy for autonomous surface vessels.
Altekar, who studied electrical engineering at the University of California, serves as Chief Technology Officer at the company. A profile on Saronic’s website says he leads the development of autonomous systems and software architecture, overseeing Forward Deployed Engineering, Product, Special Programs and Software, working across areas including perception, navigation, machine learning, command and control, and systems integration. He is described as a perception engineer with extensive experience in autonomous systems and maritime defence technology and previously worked at Anduril, where he led engineering efforts on programs including the Royal Australian Navy’s Ghost Shark drone submarine.
The deployment of Corsair comes as the US Navy expands its unmanned maritime strategy through Task Force 59, established in Bahrain in 2021 as its first unit dedicated to unmanned systems. The task force began fielding Corsair drones in the Middle East in late March. The US Navy now operates both unmanned surface and underwater vehicles for surveillance, mine detection, and tracking, with several advanced systems remaining classified. Sea drones are increasingly being adapted for reconnaissance and potential combat roles, with the Pentagon viewing them as a cost-effective way to expand reach and response capability, including plans for large-scale deployment of hundreds and potentially thousands of such platforms. Their battlefield relevance has also been demonstrated in other conflicts, including Ukraine’s use of sea drones against Russia in naval operations.
