Saronic and Castelion to bring hypersonic strike capability to unmanned surface vessels

June 12, 2026, by Fatima Bahtić

US defense technology companies Saronic and Castelion have teamed up to develop and demonstrate a hypersonic launch capability from an unmanned surface vessel.

Illustration of the Saronic Marauder – Courtesy of Saronic Technologies

The collaboration between Castelion and Saronic marks the first integration of autonomous surface vessels with hypersonics. The companies plan to integrate Saronic’s autonomous surface vessels (ASVs) with Castelion’s hypersonics. The demonstration is scheduled for next year.

“Launching a Castelion hypersonic from a Marauder MUSV significantly changes the approach for any adversary calculating where and how the U.S. can strike,” said Dino Mavrookas, Co-Founder and CEO of Saronic.

“Deterrence is ultimately a function of capability, capacity, and credibility. Saronic and Castelion are working to increase all three by combining autonomous maritime and hypersonic strike capabilities that are more scalable, more affordable, and faster to field.”

According to Saronic, hypersonic systems launched from unmanned platforms give commanders more ways to generate credible strike capacity without relying only on scarce, expensive crewed launch assets.

Saronic’s ASVs have already made headway in solving the problem. In late 2025, The firm supported a Castelion Blackbeard flight test by operating the 24-foot ASV Corsair as an autonomous at-sea telemetry collection and communications node.

The two teams are now advancing joint risk-reduction efforts to support continued flight test operations and build toward a 2027 maritime launch demonstration.

“Blackbeard and Marauder will give our warfighters more shots, from more places, with fewer constraints,” said Bryon Hargis, Co-Founder and CEO of Castelion.

To remind, Saronic recently launched its first Marauder medium unmanned surface vessel.