Drone boat startup Saronic Technologies is planning to open a new shipyard in the U.S., where it will build both naval and commercial ships.

According to The New York Times, Saronic will soon break ground on an 850-acre shipyard in Brownsville, Texas, which is scheduled to start building vessels by 2028. The new shipyard will be dubbed Port Alpha, and will reportedly be capable of manufacturing ships as large as 1,200 feet long. 

Saronic is known for producing the Corsair, a 24-foot drone vessel that runs on diesel and can travel as fast as 35 knots. Saronic also has a $392 million production contract with the U.S. Navy, and has investors with ties to President Donald Trump and his family. The company — valued today at $9.25 billion — announced a $1.75 billion round of funding in March 2026.

In June, the U.S. military used a Saronic drone vessel to rescue the crew of an Apache helicopter that had been downed off the coast of Oman. More recently, three Saronic vessels were used to attack an Iranian naval installation in mid-July, marking the first time the U.S. military had used drone boats in a combat operation.

The Trump administration has long sought to revive the American shipbuilding industry, given that the vast majority of commercial vessels are built overseas. However, virtually all U.S. naval vessels are produced at specialized domestic shipyards operated by defense contractors.