Skana Robotics, a defense-tech company founded by veterans of naval special operations and robotics experts, has unveiled the first two platforms of its new class of autonomous maritime systems: the Bull Shark Autonomous Surface Vessel (ASV) and the Stingray Autonomous Underwater Vessel (AUV).
The Bull Shark is a tactical ASV designed for multiple missions, including ISR (intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance) and interdiction. It features a scalable design and a payload capacity of up to 150 kg., and it functions as a communications hub to coordinate multiple surface and sub-surface assets. It can carry out missions autonomously or be operated remotely and has advanced tracking, loitering, and strike capability.
The ASV has a maximum speed of 50 knots and a range of 120 nautical miles.
The Stingray is a loitering deep-sea AUV designed for ISR, anti-submarine warfare, and infrastructure protection in complex underwater terrains. It supports autonomous underwater navigation, seabed anchoring, silent standby, and reactivation mode. It can carry modular payloads for sonar, electronic intelligence, strike mapping, and infrastructure protection of up to 15 kilos.
“From silent reconnaissance to kinetic engagements, Stingray adapts in real-time,” the company website says.
It offers underwater charging as well as a standard 24-hour battery life, extendable through a battery module, and can be launched from a designated underwater docking station, submarines, patrol boats, or other Skana or naval vessels.
Stingray can reach a maximum depth of 300 m., a range of 45 nautical miles, and a speed of 12 knots.
According to a press release by the company, “These platforms represent a shift toward software-defined, scalable, and operationally flexible naval assets, engineered for teaming with both manned and unmanned systems across distributed maritime operations. With initial orders already secured, Skana is entering the next phase of scaling deployment with operational partners worldwide.”
Developed with a focus on mass production, flexibility, and NATO-standard integration, the new platforms are designed to extend naval presence while minimizing logistical footprint and cost. All Skana systems are designed to evolve through code and enable seamless interoperability with existing legacy fleets and allied systems.
Skana’s production methodology removes traditional barriers to naval expansion, enabling allied nations to deploy thousands of autonomous vessels without relying on shipyards or cumbersome manufacturing processes that compromise mission effectiveness. This approach redefines how maritime resilience can be achieved at scale and what a truly self-sustained force structure looks like.
At the heart of Skana’s unmanned fleet is SeaSphere, its resource allocation and mission planning engine, and Vera, a proprietary robot operating system-based mission execution and supervision layer. Vera translates fleet-wide directives into localized autonomous actions, adapting to environmental changes in real time. This architecture enables distributed command, unmanned-unmanned collaboration, and real-time teaming with manned platforms.
With three-quarters of the Earth's surface covered by ocean, the sea has long been central to global trade, security and power projection. Recent conflicts in Ukraine and in the Red Sea have accelerated the adoption of unmanned maritime systems because for many countries, the sea is the primary trade route. Any disruption can significantly increase costs and impact both national and global energy security.
The sea holds crucial infrastructure
The sea also holds critical underwater infrastructure with networks of cables spanning an estimated millions of miles across the Mid-Atlantic seabed from North America to Europe and Asia. Disruptions to such systems can have devastating consequences to communications, financial transactions, electricity and more.
“The maritime domain demands autonomy that can survive complexity, adapt instantly, and operate without compromise,” said Idan Levy, Co-Founder and CEO of Skana Robotics. “We are making advanced autonomous capabilities accessible and scalable, enabling wide deployment and synergy between systems. Our ecosystem of vessels and technologies supports real-time data sharing, modular reconfiguration, and both fully autonomous and remotely operated missions, offering navies unmatched operational resilience, adaptability, and flexibility.”