Secretary of War Pete Hegseth visited Austin Friday as part of his “Arsenal of Freedom” tour, stopping first at Saronic — a defense-tech startup building autonomous warships — to tour the company’s combat-tested flagship vessel, the Corsair. (Photo: CBS Austin)
The uncrewed surface vessel made history in June near the Strait of Hormuz, where it pulled two U.S. Army pilots from the water after Iranian forces shot down their helicopter.
“The Corsair USV navigated forward and safely pulled the two pilots out of harm’s way, marking the first known combat search and rescue mission executed by an autonomous vessel in American history,” Hegseth said.
Saronic CEO Dino Mavrookas, a former Navy SEAL, framed the company’s mission around one priority: getting better technology to troops faster. The Pentagon has increasingly leaned on <a href="https://bitcomme.com/vantora-raises-100m-to-build-physical-ai-startups/” title=”Vantora Raises $100M to Build Physical AI Startups”>startups to modernize an aging procurement system.
“Build for speed and scale, and make sure that we get the best products and the best technology in the hands of our warfighters as fast as possible,” Mavrookas said.
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Combat veteran and tech entrepreneur Joseph Kopser said that sense of urgency matters — but added that leaders like Mavrookas understand speed shouldn’t come without guardrails.
“When you have CEOs like Dino, who was in the Navy and served our country — they know the price of not having the right equipment,” Kopser said. “They know the sacrifice and tragedy that comes if they’re not well prepared or equipped.”
“When Texas is unleashed, we dominate”
Hegseth called the visit the start of a new era of American manufacturing and urged the defense-tech workforce to accelerate.
“Build faster, scale larger, and deliver more,” Hegseth said. “We need you like never before — because when America is unleashed, we win. But I hear that when Texas is unleashed, we dominate.”
The future of warfare, he added, “will be built on the backs of AI and autonomy, which is a top priority of this War Department.”
The short speech energized Saronic employees at the company’s Austin headquarters. Hegseth did not take questions from the media and made no mention of the pending impeachment vote. His next stop is Capital Factory, followed by a weekend visit to Texas A&M, where he’ll address the Corps of Cadets and attend a football game.
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