Saronic has expanded its operations to Gulfport, Mississippi, establishing a new site at the Port of Gulfport to test and commission its Marauder medium unmanned surface vessel (MUSV).
The company’s first Marauder arrived at Gulfport in mid-July and is already undergoing testing. According to Saronic, the vessel has completed hundreds of hours of on-water testing since its arrival, with trials running for more than 12 hours a day, seven days a week.
Additional Marauders are under construction at Saronic’s shipyard in Franklin, Louisiana, and will be transferred to Gulfport for testing and commissioning as production increases.
Saronic said the Gulfport site will support the company as it scales production of Marauder and moves vessels from production through final testing and delivery. The facility spans more than 30,000 square feet and includes dedicated port access, office space, and warehouse space that can support Saronic’s growing operations. It adds a dedicated testing location to Saronic’s growing production infrastructure.
The company has been developing and manufacturing autonomous maritime systems as it works to scale production of larger unmanned surface vessels.
“Gulfport has developed an incredible ecosystem of partners across industry, academia, and government to advance the future of maritime systems,” said Dino Mavrookas, Co-Founder and CEO of Saronic.
“With a long legacy in shipbuilding, fabrication, and offshore operations, Gulfport is an ideal location to support the testing and commissioning of Marauder as we scale production and deliver autonomous ships to our defense and commercial partners.”
The state of Mississippi has spent years building the conditions that unmanned maritime systems require, having the foresight to invest ahead of market demand.
The Mississippi State Port Authority developed the state-owned port into a growing deepwater container gateway and partnered with the University of Southern Mississippi to build a research center on its working waterfront specifically for uncrewed maritime systems. The result is a coastline where Saronic could arrive and find the pieces already in place to launch a dedicated MUSV test site.
“The Roger F. Wicker Center for Ocean Enterprise was built to anchor the uncrewed maritime industry on the Gulf Coast, and Saronic’s decision to test and commission Marauder at Gulfport is the strongest signal yet that the strategy is working,” stated Jon Nass, CEO of the Port of Gulfport.
“We’re proud that vessels strengthening America’s security are being proven on this waterfront, and we are ready and excited to grow with Saronic as production scales.”
Saronic introduced Marauder as a 54.9-meter autonomous surface vessel designed for sustained, long-range operations and at-sea payload deployment.
The vessel has a maximum speed of more than 25 knots and a range of up to 5,400 nautical miles. It can carry payloads of up to 150 metric tons and is designed to accommodate up to four 40-foot ISO containers or eight 20-foot ISO containers, depending on mission requirements.
Marauder’s modular payload architecture allows it to support a variety of roles, including logistics support, scientific research, maritime domain awareness, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR), and other mission-specific applications. Payload configurations can be changed without major modifications to the vessel.
The first Marauder hull moved from initial design to on-water trials in under a year, according to the company. The keel-laying ceremony was held in August 2025. Recently, Saronic held a launching ceremony for Marauder.