01
Tethered architecture
Tethered nodes are designed to carry power and fiber-optic data, reducing reliance on wireless control links, subject to engineering validation.
V-06 · Mission Venture · Concept-Stage Architecture
Maritime Shield
Distributed maritime perimeter sensing and response architecture for high-value vessels, ports, and offshore infrastructure. Maritime Shield is a concept for tethered unmanned maritime nodes positioned around a protected vessel or facility. The architecture is designed to extend sensing, maintain persistent power and data connectivity through physical tethering, and provide distributed situational awareness against low-cost unmanned surface threats.
Problem
Cheap Drone Boats Can Sink Billion-Dollar Warships.
Low-cost unmanned surface vessels, explosive drone boats, can damage or sink billion-dollar warships. Adversaries deploy swarms of autonomous or remotely-piloted vessels to overwhelm traditional defenses. Missiles are expensive. Guns require constant human engagement. Reaction time is shrinking. The Navy needs persistent, automated perimeter defense for ports, carrier strike groups, tankers, and forward operating bases.
Capability
Tethered Maritime Nodes. Distributed Sensing Perimeter.
Maritime Shield positions tethered unmanned maritime nodes around a protected vessel or facility, each acting as a distributed sensor node. Tethered nodes can reduce reliance on wireless control links and may support persistent host-supplied power and data connectivity, subject to engineering validation. Sensing may combine marine radar, thermal imaging, passive RF detection, LiDAR proximity, and acoustic sensing. Response options remain subject to platform, mission, safety, rules-of-engagement, and government requirements.
02
Layered sensing
Marine radar, thermal, passive RF, LiDAR, and acoustic sensing across distributed nodes, intended to surface low-profile surface threats from multiple angles.
03
Distributed architecture
Distributed nodes are intended to extend coverage and coordinated awareness beyond a single hull, subject to engineering validation.
Why now
Distributed Robotic Fleet Replaces Single-Ship Vulnerability.
Modern naval warfare is changing. Adversaries field cheap unmanned threats faster than traditional defense systems can adapt. Maritime Shield is intended to extend a single high-value platform's defensive awareness into a distributed, tethered architecture, subject to engineering validation. Potential use cases: aircraft carriers, amphibious assault ships, naval logistics vessels, fuel tankers, strategic ports, forward operating bases, offshore platforms.
Maturity & routing
Verified Where Verified. Mapped to Federal Routes.
Maturity
Concept
Concept-stage architecture. Performance, platform integration, endurance, standoff distance, and response methods require engineering validation.
Federal route
Navy + DARPA cluster
Navy. SOCOM maritime. Coast Guard. Port security. Maritime primes. OTA pilots. SOFWERX maritime experimentation. DARPA maritime programs.
Prime fit
Maritime prime teaming
SDVOSB subsystem fit for maritime primes serving Navy unmanned and port-security programs. Concept-stage architecture available for prime engagement.
Technical exchange
Request a Maritime Shield technical exchange.
Navy program offices, SOCOM maritime, Coast Guard, port-security operators, maritime primes, DARPA managers: tell us the platform and the threat scenario. Axirix tailors the package to your evaluation criteria.