Saronic has been selected to aid in the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s (DARPA) Pulling Guard initiative.
DARPA’s Pulling Guard initiative is centered around the development and construction of autonomous/semi-autonomous escort vessels to protect unarmed logistics ships. Pulling Guard dictates that an operator shall remain in the command loop to ultimately decide engagement decisions whilst retaining sufficient autonomy amongst present assets to monitor a multitude systems.
Saronic will work alongside DARPA to develop a modular and autonomy-enabled vessel which will serve as the basis for the rest of the Pulling Guard program’s systems, the development of which will leverage Saronic’s existing experience developing autonomous systems. These vessels will be standardized along physical dimensions and will be tasked with being the carrier of the program’s “marinized” sensors and effectors.
“Saronic is honored to be selected for DARPA’s Pulling Guard program and proud to contribute to the agency’s storied legacy of advancing breakthrough technologies in support of national security. The aims of the program align with our mission to rapidly design and deploy autonomous maritime systems that fundamentally change how maritime security is delivered.”
– Rob Lehman, Co-Founder and Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) at Saronic
In partnership with DARPA, Saronic will assist in a “collaborative design cycle,” which seeks to ensure that the capabilities put forward are fully fleshed out prior to design implementation. The design cycle will follow DARPA’s iterative development model, focused on combating a rapidly evolving threat profile put forward by potential adversaries, and ensures that modular designs such as Saronic’s are in compliance with regulations and up to date at all times.
Pulling Guard is scheduled to take a total of 39 months, split into an 18 month development phase and a 21 month phase focused on “Integration, Manufacturing, and Commercial Transition”. Development is centered around modular solutions, both in terms of hardware and software, and is borne out of a need for rapid implementation and upgraded to counter an evolving threat axis.
