Magnet Defense Launches AI-Enabled Long-Range USV

Magnet Defense LLC, a provider of maritime Unmanned Surface Vessels (USVs), has unveiled its Artificial Intelligence (AI)-enabled autonomous maritime platform following more than two years of quiet development.

The company invested over $50 million in designing, building, and validating its first unmanned Autonomous Surface Vessel (ASV), the M48. This AI-enabled platform has a successful heritage of over 32,000 nautical miles and over 390 total days at sea.

The M48 Fleet USV, the company’s first flagship vessel, features modular sensor suites, advanced autonomy, and proven performance in harsh maritime conditions, setting a new standard for operational utility and resilience.

The M48 platform features a stable and efficient geometry and containerized mission payloads. It has demonstrated navigation compliance and exceptional endurance, operating a total of 390 days at sea, including multi-day operations in Sea State 7 conditions, and enduring Sea State 9 conditions for many hours.

Magnet Defense combines decades of experience across defense, technology, and industrial manufacturing. The demand for unmanned maritime capabilities is accelerating due to rising global tensions. Traditional manned multi-mission ships are often too costly and scarce for modern defense missions, driving a shift toward low-cost, autonomous platforms with rapid response times, distributed assets, and enhanced threat assessment capabilities. Magnet Defense’s AI-enabled USV platforms are designed to address these challenges, offering high range, endurance, and autonomy for contested environments.

Designed for global deployment, Magnet Defense’s USVs can operate fully autonomously in high-risk zones, delivering persistent maritime intelligence, surveillance, missile defense, logistics, electronic warfare, and anti-submarine warfare capabilities while reducing personnel risk.

By integrating advanced machine learning, edge processing, and multi-sensor fusion, Magnet Defense’s USVs deliver rapid threat recognition, automated weapon pairing, and operator-in-the-loop mission capabilities. They incorporate unique USV features and redundancies that enable them to maintain long unattended missions without maintenance and ensure fast base turnarounds.