Saronic begins construction of Port Alpha shipyard in Texas — Breaking Defense

Maritime defense technology company Saronic has begun construction of the new Port Alpha shipyard in Brownsville, Texas, United States. US Vice President J.D. Vance and Texas Governor Greg Abbott attended the groundbreaking ceremony, Breaking Defense reports.

Scale of the new facility

The company unveiled plans to create Port Alpha in July. At the initial stage, the shipyard will cover approximately 800 acres, while its area could eventually grow to 4,000 acres. Saronic said it intends to hire around 10,000 workers, including welders, metalworking specialists, robotics specialists, software developers, and naval architects.

Saronic co-founder and CEO Dino Mavrookas said Port Alpha is being designed for serial production of autonomous and crewed vessels. According to him, the facility's architecture provides for modular production and high throughput.

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Contract for the US Navy

The new shipyard is planned to build Landing Craft Utility vessels. Earlier this month, the US Navy selected Saronic as one of three companies to produce such vessels under a contract worth approximately $280 million in total. The Navy expects deliveries of the craft, intended to transport personnel, weapons, and cargo, to begin in late 2028.

Saronic already produces autonomous surface vessels at a shipyard in Franklin, Louisiana. These include the Corsair, which US forces used in recent operations in the Middle East, as well as the Marauder medium unmanned surface vessel. The US Navy reported the purchase of ten Marauders under the MUSV Marketplace program. According to Mavrookas, from January 1, 2027, the company's capacity will make it possible to produce up to 20 such vessels per year, and $300 million was invested in the infrastructure of the Franklin shipyard for this purpose.