The U.S. Navy pushed uncrewed surface warfare into a new phase this month as the Saildrone Surveyor (SD-3001) departed Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam on July 8, 2026 to begin the sea phase of Exercise RIMPAC 2026 — now armed with a Lockheed Martin-built quad-launcher for AGM-179 Joint Air-to-Ground Missiles.
Missile-Armed Surveyor Joins The World's Biggest Naval Drill
RIMPAC 2026 — running June 24 through July 31 — pulls together 30 nations, more than 30 surface ships, five submarines, 15 national land forces, over 206 aircraft and 30,000 personnel across the Hawaiian operating area. Adding the JAGM-armed 20-meter Saildrone Surveyor marks the first time the platform has appeared in a coalition exercise as a strike-capable node rather than a purely ISR asset. USNI News counted more than 35 unmanned-system experiments running during the exercise.
MUSV Program Ramps In Parallel
The armed Surveyor debut arrives days after the Navy issued its July 7 industry notice for the Medium Unmanned Surface Vessel (MUSV) program, seeking proposals with "detailed requirements for high-capacity MUSV solutions used for logistics support and capable of transporting containerized payloads." The Navy has committed to deploy thousands of USVs to the Indo-Pacific by 2030 under distributed maritime operations doctrine, and the MUSV RFP is the next procurement step for its Golden Fleet initiative.
Saildrone's Fleet Grows With Armament
Saildrone has been broadening the Surveyor from an ocean-mapping and ISR platform into a hunter-killer node. In June the company unveiled Spectre, a 52-meter USV for anti-submarine warfare co-developed with Lockheed Martin. Adding JAGM launchers to the smaller Surveyor now closes the loop: sensors, decision-making and strike on a single distributable maritime autonomous platform. The exercise also featured trials of the L3Harris, Textron Systems and Ocius unmanned surface fleets, reinforcing how quickly RIMPAC is becoming a proving ground for autonomy. Related coverage: Rocket Lab's $266M Space Force contract.
Reporting based on coverage from USNI News, Naval News, Army Recognition, DVIDS and Indo-Pacific Defense Forum.