Splash Industries robo-restocks warships at RIMPAC

Colin Demarest

Back view of two people on a ship overlooking a sunlit sea. A person in a white cowboy hat wears a beige life vest. A small drone-boat can be seen in the water. — An 11-foot Typhoon on approach. Photo: Courtesy of Splash Industries

Splash Industries, a California startup, conducted unmanned resupply missions at the Rim of the Pacific exercise, delivering parts to the amphibious assault ship Essex and nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt.

Why it matters: It's a huge moment — at one of the world's largest naval drills, no less — for such a small outfit.

Driving the news: Splash disclosed its participation alongside an announcement that it raised $4.2 million and was, additionally, preparing a new drone-boat for U.S. Navy testing.

The round was led by Ubiquity Ventures.

What they're saying: "We built Splash around a simple idea: Maritime autonomy should be operationally useful, affordable and easy to deploy," CEO Ivan Avanesov told Axios.

"Our vessels are built for two missions: contested logistics and maritime domain awareness — moving cargo ship-to-shore without a dock or a crew standing by, and keeping watch without someone staring at a radar screen for hours."

Zoom in: Splash already offers the 11-foot Typhoon. Its new vessel, the Tempest, is much larger. It's expected to carry 1,500 pounds and travel 300 nautical miles.

"Last year, we disrupted the extra-small USV market with the Typhoon," Avanesov said. "This year we're doing the same with the Tempest."

Yes, but: The drone-boat landscape is getting crowded. And the U.S. Navy has only so many dollars.

Zoom out: The RIMPAC exercise this year featured more than 30 surface ships and a handful of submarines, plus hundreds of aircraft and tens of thousands of personnel.

Go deeper: Lockheed Martin paying $3.5 billion for naval defense-tech company

Add Axios on Google

Splash Industries robo-restocks warships at RIMPAC

What to read next