---
title: "Leidos built the Navy's historic drone ship. Three other firms got the $1.2 billion."
description: "A Leidos-built Seahawk became the first large uncrewed ship to deploy with a US carrier strike group, the acting Navy secretary confirmed on October 14. Leidos' opening now is a $15 million prototype award and a bidding slot on the Navy's marketplace, with the first of 30 hulls from other builders due before fiscal 2027 ends."
publisher: "The Inference"
section: "Deals"
published: 2026-10-15T20:46:40.366Z
modified: 2026-10-15T20:46:40.366Z
canonical: https://theinference.org/article/leidos-built-the-navy-s-historic-drone-ship-three-other-firms-got-the-1-2-billion
language: en
keywords: "Defense, Autonomy, Drones, Procurement, Unmanned Systems"
---

# Leidos built the Navy's historic drone ship. Three other firms got the $1.2 billion.

> A Leidos-built Seahawk became the first large uncrewed ship to deploy with a US carrier strike group, the acting Navy secretary confirmed on October 14. Leidos' opening now is a $15 million prototype award and a bidding slot on the Navy's marketplace, with the first of 30 hulls from other builders due before fiscal 2027 ends.

On October 14, Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao told an Army conference in Washington that the USS Theodore Roosevelt strike group is "the first carrier strike group to ever deploy with a large-size unmanned surface vessel" [1][2]. "This is a force multiplier," he said. "Imagine having more guns out there." Cao dated the deployment to October 8; the group had left San Diego in late September, bound for the Middle East [1][3].

The escort is Seahawk, built by [Leidos](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/leidos), the Reston, Virginia defense contractor: 137 feet long, 145 tons, designed to stay at sea for months [1][3]. A US official told [Bloomberg](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-10-14/carrier-strike-group-deploys-with-uncrewed-ship-in-us-navy-first) the group widens commanders' options should President Donald Trump choose to restart military strikes on Iran [3].

## The first production buy went to three other builders

[On September 29 the Navy said its Medium Unmanned Surface Vessel program would move to serial production](https://www.dvidshub.net/news/576137/navy-procure-30-medium-unmanned-surface-vessels-following-completion-phase-sea-testing): 30 hulls, under production agreements with Galliano Marine Services, a Louisiana shipyard; HII, the listed builder of the Navy's aircraft carriers; and [Saronic](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/saronic) Technologies, a private startup [4]. Each agreement covers 10 vessels at an average cost of $40 million, with first deliveries due before fiscal 2027 ends [4]. HII's 10 will be its ROMULUS design [5].

None of the three has said what its agreement is worth; Saronic expressly declined to [6]. At the Navy's average unit cost, [the 30 hulls come to about $1.2 billion](https://theinference.org/article/navy-pays-about-1-2-billion-for-30-drone-warships-pricing-autonomy-at-40-million-a-hull) [7].

*Chart: **Ten hulls each for three builders; Seahawk's builder gets none** Bar chart of hulls per builder in the Navy's first medium unmanned surface vessel production buy: HII, Saronic and Galliano Marine at 10 each, Leidos at zero.*

*Vessels per builder in the first serial-production buy of the Medium Unmanned Surface Vessel program, announced September 29, 2026. The Navy put the average cost at $40 million a hull; no builder disclosed its agreement value. Sources: US Navy release; UK Defence Journal. [4][5]*

## Leidos got $15 million and the right to keep bidding

Leidos came away with $15 million and a listing. Alongside PacMar Technologies and Sea Machines, the other two firms from the program's at-sea demonstrations [6], it was judged to have completed its prototype agreement, which pays a $15 million award, and it was accepted onto the Drones.mil Maritime Marketplace, where firms are "eligible to receive follow-on production agreements" [4]. That eligibility covers none of the first 30 hulls.

[L3Harris](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/l3harris), which pitched its own commercially derived design, appears on none of the Navy's lists [4][7]. [Leidos booked $17.2 billion of revenue in the fiscal year ended January 2, 2026](https://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&CIK=0001336920) [8][9]. The whole 30-hull buy is about 7 percent of one year of that revenue, and Leidos' $15 million share rounds to zero [7][8].

*Chart: **The whole 30-hull buy is about 7% of one year of Leidos revenue** Bars comparing Leidos annual revenue of $17.2 billion, the Navy's $1.2 billion buy of 30 hulls, and Leidos' $15 million prototype award.*

*US dollars. Leidos revenue for the fiscal year ended January 2, 2026. The 30-hull buy is 30 hulls at the Navy's stated average cost of $40 million each; no builder disclosed its agreement value. Sources: US Navy release; AInvest; Leidos press release via Nasdaq; Leidos SEC filings. [4][7][8][9]*

## The spread is policy, and the deliveries decide it

The Navy is not picking one winner. Cao's message to industry was "build fast, deliver on time," and a Phase II call for solutions opened on September 23 to widen the field [4]. The Chief of Naval Operations calls the vessels a "hedge strategy" giving commanders a "Tailored Offset" [4]. Leidos' record is real: [its autonomy software has logged more than 200,000 nautical miles](https://www.nasdaq.com/press-release/leidos-autonomy-earns-its-place-rimpac-and-carrier-strike-group-2026-09-08), and its Sea Hunter was the only medium uncrewed surface vessel at this year's Rim of the Pacific exercise [8].

![The uncrewed trimaran Sea Hunter under way in the Pacific Ocean during the Rim of the Pacific exercise](https://storage.googleapis.com/theinference-public/img/2ebe673ccb6d3304.jpg)

*Sea Hunter, Leidos' uncrewed ship, sails in the Pacific Ocean during the Rim of the Pacific exercise in July 2022. It was the only medium uncrewed surface vessel at RIMPAC 2026. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Aleksandr Freutel)*

## Saronic brings combat time, not just hulls

Saronic, though, has combat time. Three of its 24-foot Corsairs [struck Iranian naval infrastructure at Bandar Abbas in July](https://theinference.org/article/a-7-metre-drone-boat-struck-iran-now-saronic-is-selling-a-260-metre-shipyard), the first combat use of American sea drones, and the company is [spending more than $3 billion on Port Alpha, a new Texas shipyard](https://gcaptain.com/saronic-wins-navy-production-contract-for-180-foot-autonomous-surface-vessel/) [6]. Unmanned programs have also been favorite targets in past Navy budget fights [7].

Two dated readings settle it: whether the first 30 hulls land before fiscal 2027 closes, and whether Leidos converts its marketplace slot into an order before they do [4].

## Takeaway

Leidos' Seahawk made history with a carrier strike group, but the Navy split its first 30 production hulls three ways at about $40 million each, leaving Leidos with a $15 million award and the right to keep bidding.

## Sources

1. [Anadolu Agency, "US Navy deploys carrier strike group with uncrewed vessel for 1st time: Acting secretary," 15 October 2026](https://www.aa.com.tr/en/world/us-navy-deploys-carrier-strike-group-with-uncrewed-vessel-for-1st-time-acting-secretary/4090299)
2. [Bloomberg, "Carrier Strike Group Deploys With Uncrewed Ship in US Navy First," 14 October 2026](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-10-14/carrier-strike-group-deploys-with-uncrewed-ship-in-us-navy-first)
3. [Briefs.co, "U.S. carrier group sails with large uncrewed ship for the first time," 14 October 2026](https://www.briefs.co/news/u-s-carrier-group-sails-with-large-uncrewed-ship-for-the-fir/)
4. [US Navy via DVIDS, "Navy to Procure 30 Medium Unmanned Surface Vessels Following Completion of Phase I At-Sea Testing," 29 September 2026](https://www.dvidshub.net/news/576137/navy-procure-30-medium-unmanned-surface-vessels-following-completion-phase-sea-testing)
5. [UK Defence Journal, "HII to build 10 ROMULUS drone ships for U.S. Navy," 2 October 2026](https://ukdefencejournal.org.uk/hii-to-build-10-romulus-drone-ships-for-u-s-navy/)
6. [gCaptain, "Saronic Wins Navy Production Contract for 180-Foot Autonomous Surface Vessel," 29 September 2026](https://gcaptain.com/saronic-wins-navy-production-contract-for-180-foot-autonomous-surface-vessel/)
7. [AInvest, "US Navy Deploys Carrier Strike Group With Uncrewed Ship in First," 15 October 2026](https://www.ainvest.com/news/navy-deploys-carrier-strike-group-uncrewed-ship-2610/)
8. [Leidos press release via Nasdaq, "Leidos autonomy earns its place at RIMPAC and with carrier strike group," 8 September 2026](https://www.nasdaq.com/press-release/leidos-autonomy-earns-its-place-rimpac-and-carrier-strike-group-2026-09-08)
9. [Leidos, annual revenue from its SEC filings, retrieved 15 October 2026](https://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&CIK=0001336920)


---

Leidos built the Navy's historic drone ship. Three other firms got the $1.2 billion. — The Inference. Canonical: https://theinference.org/article/leidos-built-the-navy-s-historic-drone-ship-three-other-firms-got-the-1-2-billion