The U.S. Navy is using small autonomous boats built by San Diego-based startup Seasats to locate and monitor Chinese ghost fleets operating in waters near Taiwan.
These unmanned vessels, known as Lightfish, have been deployed from San Diego and have successfully completed missions including the first autonomous crossing of the Taiwan Strait, a contested waterway between Taiwan and mainland China.
Seasats, founded in 2020, has raised $40 million from investors and secured $100 million in defense contracts. The company's 12-foot skiffs are designed to operate autonomously for extended periods, relaying critical intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance data from remote ocean locations back to commanders on shore.
The boats use acoustic sensors to listen for underwater messages from submarines or divers, then convert that data into radio signals that are transmitted via satellite.
CEO and co-founder Matt Flanigan explained that radio waves cannot travel through water, making surface vessels essential for communication between underwater assets and the internet. The Lightfish boats have been tested off the coast of San Diego and in Navy exercises in Coronado, proving their reliability in real-world conditions.
In a recent mission, a Lightfish vessel encountered multiple Chinese warships operating within Taiwan's exclusive economic zone without transmitting their identity, according to Seasats. The company's chief of staff, Declan Kerwin, noted that even in an era of ubiquitous satellites and sensors, ships can still hide in the ocean, making long-range autonomous vessels crucial for maritime awareness where shore-based radars cannot reach.
Beyond military applications, Seasats' boats are also used for climate science. Scripps Institution of Oceanography has employed them to collect deep-sea samples, and NOAA has used them to forecast harmful algal blooms in the Pacific Northwest.
To meet growing demand, Seasats is expanding its operations with a new headquarters in Clairemont, located at 5965 Santa Fe St. The facility spans more than 61,000 square feet across two buildings and will house 70 employees, with plans to hire 12 additional staff in software, operations, and electronics.
The new space will allow the company to ramp up production from about one boat per week to roughly one boat per day. Salaries for new positions range from $75,000 for a field service representative to $275,000 for the head of software.
The new headquarters is expected to open fully in August, providing Seasats with the capacity to transform its cramped workshop into a true production line and accommodate more customers.