Sea Hunter / Seahawk
US Navy autonomous trimarans that progressed from research prototypes to documented fleet activity, including Seahawk's 2026 carrier-group deployment.
- Country / region
- United States
- Programme status
- In service / use documented
- Sources reviewed
- 20 Sept 2026
- Primary domain
- Sea surface
- System type
- Uncrewed surface vessel
- Developer / manufacturer
- Leidos / Vigor Industrial programme
- Origin / production countries
- United States
- Other names
- ACTUV; Sea Hunter II
- Variants / configurations
- Sea Hunter — original ACTUV-derived prototype; Seahawk — follow-on prototype
- Operators / programme customers
- United States Navy — experimentation and documented fleet activity
Evidence & current status
The Navy's 2025 prototype classification and supplier-reported 2026 fleet activity describe successive stages. Original Sea Hunter performance numbers are not interchangeable with Seahawk specifications.
Role & capabilities
- Maritime autonomy experimentation
- Modular sensor trials
- Integration with crewed fleets
Specifications in context
- Configuration
- Uncrewed trimaran research vessel
Supplier-published figure; configuration and operating conditions affect performance.
Source ↗ - Hull / propulsion
- Sea Hunter: twin diesel engines and twin screws
Original Sea Hunter baseline, not a Seahawk specification.
Source ↗ - Dimensions
- Sea Hunter: 132 ft long
Original Sea Hunter baseline.
Source ↗ - Displacement / mass
- Sea Hunter: 135 tons including 40 tons of fuel
Original Sea Hunter; source uses 'tons' without specifying the unit standard. Seahawk differs.
Source ↗ - Payload
- Sea Hunter: up to 10 additional tons
Source baseline; not a universal mission allowance.
Source ↗ - Endurance
- Sea Hunter: designed for 70 days uncrewed
Design objective, not a guarantee for every payload.
Source ↗ - Range
- Sea Hunter: 10,000 nautical miles at cruise
2023 design summary.
Source ↗ - Speed
- Sea Hunter: 12 knots cruise; 27 knots burst
2023 design summary.
Source ↗ - Sea state / environment
- Sea Hunter: operation in sea state 5; survival in sea state 7
Operating and survival limits are different.
Source ↗ - Sensors
- Not established in the reviewed public sources.
Public data gap; no estimate or neighbouring variant value substituted.
Source ↗ - Communications / control
- Autonomous vessel operations under a Navy experimentation programme
Supplier-published figure; configuration and operating conditions affect performance.
Source ↗ - Launch / deployment
- Not established in the reviewed public sources.
Public data gap; no estimate or neighbouring variant value substituted.
Source ↗