Defense technology firm Saronic announced plans to invest $300 million in revamping a shipyard in Franklin, Louisiana, to construct autonomous surface vessels.
“The company broke ground on the new construction project in November 2025, which will add more than 300,000 square feet of new production capacity. The project is slated for completion by the end of 2026, with expanded operations coming online in early 2027,” Saronic said in a statement today.
The new facilities will be built at the former Gulf Craft shipyard, located roughly 100 miles south of Baton Rouge. Saronic expects the expansion to generate hundreds of skilled jobs in the region.
Earlier this year, the company acquired Gulf Craft to use the space to prototype and construct its 150-foot autonomous surface vessels, dubbed Marauder.
“Our expanded shipyard will enable us to deliver autonomous ships at unprecedented speed and scale while creating 1,500 high-quality jobs across Louisiana,” said Saronic CEO Dino Mavrookas. “Together with our next-generation Port Alpha shipyard, we’re establishing the modern blueprint for American shipbuilding — an integrated ecosystem that connects autonomy innovation with large-scale production capacity to strengthen and sustain America’s maritime leadership for generations to come.”
Port Alpha is intended to become “the largest and most advanced shipyard in the US designed to produce large autonomous ships,” although company executives have not disclosed the exact location since first unveiling the idea publicly in February 2025.
Since its inception in 2022, the Texas-based firm has aggressively targeted the US Navy’s developing portfolio of unmanned and autonomous surface vessels, rolling out several different platforms varying in size and payload capacity. The company is currently building two Marauder vessels in Louisiana, with the first expected to launch by the end of the year.
