A Tale of Unmanned Seas and the Quest for Autonomy

The Missing Piece: A Tale of Unmanned Seas and the Quest for Autonomy

Every now and then, multiple forces move in parallel, aiming to converge at a single moment when everything should fall into place. But sometimes, one crucial detail is overlooked. And when all the players arrive at the meeting point, they realize a critical piece of the puzzle is missing—a link in the chain that no one accounted for.

This is the story of the unmanned maritime systems market. And this is where Sealartec saw an opportunity.

The Characters in Our Tale

1. The Robotic Boat Companies – “We are high-tech innovators!”

2. The Human Operator – Human who?

3. The Traditional Crane Companies – “Launch and recovery is our bread and butter… as long as there’s a man on the boat.”

4. The Shipbuilders – “We build big ships, and we move at our own pace.”

5. The End Users (Navies & Coast Guards) – “We want robotic boats.”

Now, remember these numbers—who is #2?

A Tale as Old as the Seas

Launching small boats off big ships is an ancient practice. When Columbus discovered America (did he?), his crew lowered small boats to go ashore, using wooden davits and ropes. A sailor on board handled the task of connecting and disconnecting the boat from the lifting gear. Simple.

Fast forward to 2000. A Yemeni kamikaze boat—manned, not robotic—exploded against the USS Cole, tearing a massive hole in the ship and claiming the lives of 17 American sailors. A tragedy that became a turning point.

This event was the spark that led major defense companies to accelerate programs for robotic boats designed for force protection missions. These vessels were named USVs—Unmanned Surface Vessels.

The Forgotten Piece of the Puzzle

Now, you might be wondering: What’s this story really about?

Well, it’s about #2.

In the old world, a human operator aboard the boat handled the crucial step of connecting it back to the ship’s crane after a mission. But in this new world of unmanned vessels, there was no one left to do the job.

BIG PROBLEM.

But not our problem, thought the USV builders. “We are high-tech companies!” they declared. “Launch and recovery? That’s low-tech. Let the crane companies handle it. Or the end customer. Or maybe the shipbuilders will figure it out.”

Well, it turned out… no one did.

Because this problem wasn’t simple.

Each player in the ecosystem assumed someone else would step up. But no one wanted to touch the hot potato of automating launch and recovery.

Enter Sealartec

The people behind Sealartec had been in this game for a while—designing USVs for major contractors since 2004. That’s over two decades of experience. And somewhere along the way, they recognized the industry’s blind spot:

If robotic boats were to become truly autonomous, launch and recovery had to be autonomous too.

That’s how Sealartec was born. Not as a company chasing trends, but from a deep, early realization of an imminent market need—years before anyone else.

Sealartec created the first fully autonomous launch and recovery technology for USVs that actually works—even in the worst sea conditions.

Leading the Way

With navies worldwide now expanding their use of USVs, autonomous launch and recovery is no longer optional—it’s essential.

Sealartec leads this space with a technology that is years ahead of any competition.

Some of the first to integrate Sealartec’s L&R technology include:

• The U.S. Navy

• BAE Systems (UK)

• MARTAC (USA)

• Israel Aerospace Industries

• The Israeli Ministry of Defense

The entire ecosystem is demanding autonomous L&R solutions. Sealartec is here to deliver.