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LeVanta Tech shows off its unusual HALIA drone at sea test. Sep 3, 2026 Modified date: Sep 3, 2026 Key Points * LeVanta Tech demonstrated its unusually shaped HALIA float-and-fly drone with partner STR at ANTX Coastal Trident. * HALIA can land on the open ocean, float for weeks, then relaunch at speeds LeVanta Tech has reported above 100 knots. LeVanta Tech said it demonstrated its HALIA unmanned system at ANTX Coastal Trident last month, showing how the platform can link air, surface, subsea and seabed assets over long distances. Photos of HALIA show an unusual design. The drone sits low in the water with a dark, angular hull riding hull-down, mostly submerged. Two cylindrical engine pods sit side by side on top of the fuselage, feeding what appear to be ducted fans, while swept white wings and twin tail fins jut out near the back, just clear of the waterline. A small sensor mast pokes up from one wing root. Little about the shape resembles a conventional aircraft or boat. HALIA is a "float-and-fly" drone: it flies to a location, lands directly on the open ocean, and can sit there for weeks in a low-power floating mode before relaunching to reposition or leave the area, according to LeVanta Tech, which profiled the company in September 2025. The company said HALIA does not require a dedicated ship or fixed infrastructure to operate, since it can move between the air and water on its own. - ADVERTISEMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOW - At Coastal Trident, LeVanta Tech worked with STR, a defense technology firm with undersea systems and sensor work based near Boston, to demonstrate a communications architecture connecting air, surface, subsea and seabed systems. STR provided what the companies called a "rapidly repositionable" command-and-control air-water gateway, using what the companies described as high technology readiness level components to deliver over-the-horizon, real-time command-and-control links to subsea and seabed systems. ANTX Coastal Trident is an annual exercise run by the Naval Surface Warfare Center Port Hueneme Division at the Port of Hueneme, California, bringing together Navy, other government agencies, academia and industry to test maritime and port security technology in an operational setting. LeVanta Tech, founded in 2023, started out building real-time maritime monitoring tools for the offshore wind industry before shifting to a defense-first focus. The company's leadership includes CEO Kelly Echols, an engineer and patent attorney by background; Chief Aviation Officer Jon Smith, a former P-3C Orion instructor pilot and Navy unmanned aircraft test project manager; and CTO Johnny Doo, who has more than 40 years in aircraft and hovercraft development, according to Defense Tech Signals. The company was one of six finalists selected from 260 applicants for the 2024 Gulf Blue Navigator accelerator. A demonstration that year drew interest from the Air Force, which led to a $1.8 million Direct-to-Phase II Small Business Innovation Research award. The Air Force Research Laboratory followed with a Phase II SBIR contract worth $1.76 million running through December 2026, covering a project titled "Floating and Loitering Ocean Advanced Technology Sensing," according to federal contract records cited by Defense Tech Signals. LeVanta Tech has also raised more than $1.1 million in early funding, including an $800,000 credit investment from Leonid Capital Partners in April 2025. LeVanta Tech is developing HALIA in two configurations: a battery-electric version for tactical missions and a hybrid-electric version built for longer range. Both are designed to scale into larger platforms, the company has said. HALIA uses variable buoyancy combined with a hovercraft-assisted launch and recovery system, intended to let it take off and land in rough seas. Its top speed has been reported at more than 100 knots (185 km/h), with loiter times of weeks in its powered-down floating mode. The platform carries a modular payload bay that LeVanta Tech says can support intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance sensors, electronic warfare packages, kinetic payloads and communications equipment, feeding into wider command-and-control networks. The distinctive hull shape and twin engine pods are part of what LeVanta Tech describes as a design built specifically for surviving repeated transitions between air and water, rather than adapted from an existing aircraft or boat. Readers who wish to follow its weekly coverage can subscribe to the Weekly Defense Roundup. If you wish to report a grammatical or factual error in this article, please let Iniaes LLC. know by using the online form. Executive Editor Support The Defence Blog

Space Force awards $615M to Rocket Lab and STR for tracking tech. The U.S. Space Force awarded contracts totaling $615 million to Rocket Lab, Systems & Technology Research, and an unidentified firm to develop satellite tracking technologies for the Space-Based Airborne Moving Target Indicator program. The initiative aims to provide persistent space-based surveillance over contested areas globally. Space Force awards $615 million for orbital tracking technologies. The U.S. Space Force distributed a $615 million package among three defense contractors to develop advanced technologies for a satellite network intended to track aircraft and missile threats from orbit. While the military branch withheld the exact financial breakdown for operational-security reasons, Rocket Lab claimed the largest disclosed portion with a $397 million agreement. Under that agreement, Rocket Lab will build, launch, and operate multiple next-generation Flatellite spacecraft. These flat satellite designs are optimized for large constellations and equipped with space-based sensors alongside low-latency, high-bandwidth communication links. The firm-fixed-price contracts form part of the Space-Based Airborne Moving Target Indicator program, known as SB-AMTI, which seeks to give the military persistent tracking over regions where surveillance aircraft face operational risks. Discover more Company Earnings Business news analysis Expanding the vendor base and alternative sensing approaches. The latest awards follow a massive $4.16 billion agreement awarded to SpaceX to build the initial AMTI constellation designed to detect and maintain custody of fighter aircraft, bombers, cruise missiles, and potential hypersonic weapons. Whereas the SpaceX pact establishes the operational baseline, the newer agreements focus on alternative sensing technologies and expanding supplier diversity. "The core focus of this second task order is diversifying our capabilities and ensuring we don't rely on a single technical solution. With these new partnerships, we are exploring unique innovations and technologies and fundamentally different ways to accomplish the airborne moving target indication mission." Col. Ryan Frazier, acting Space Force portfolio acquisition executive for Space-Based Sensing and Targeting Systems & Technology Research, a Virginia-based defense technology firm commonly known as STR, joined the effort alongside Rocket Lab and an unnamed third contractor. The agency noted that the broader architectural design will combine space-based sensors, communications links, and ground processing to produce updated tracks detailing a target's location, speed, and direction. Operational goals and launch logistics. Rocket Lab announced it will launch its Flatellites on the company's upcoming Neutron rocket and operate them from secure facilities. The company brings an end-to-end vertical integration model to the initiative, handling everything from satellite design and manufacturing to launch and on-orbit operations. The defense initiative responds directly to the vulnerabilities of traditional aerial platforms. Large surveillance aircraft provide wide-area radar coverage, but their proximity to conflict zones is increasingly constrained by long-range missiles and sophisticated air defenses. Moving these sensing missions into space creates a resilient layer of protection, projecting an initial capability on orbit by 2028. Discover more Business & Industrial Managing technical hurdles and future milestones. Despite the rapid contract awards, military officials emphasize that the 2028 architecture marks only a first step toward global space-based targeting. Program leaders point to significant technical hurdles involving data processing limits and orchestration challenges. Furthermore, managing a vast fleet of sensors requires sophisticated ground processing algorithms and orchestration software. More on this July 29, 2026 In "Business" Rocket Lab to Launch Japanese Tech Satellite, Continuing Record-Breaking YearTable of ContentsRocket Lab to Launch Japanese Tech Satellite, Continuing Record-Breaking YearExpanding Partnership with JAXARAISE-4: A Platform for InnovationA Year of Unprecedented Success Rocket Lab is poised to launch a cutting-edge technology demonstration satellite for Japan tonight, December 6th, marking a... December 6, 2025 The U.S. Space Force is once again shifting a national security payload to SpaceX, this time reassigning the GPS III SV10 satellite to a Falcon 9 rocket launch slated for late April. The move comes after continued delays and an ongoing investigation into an anomaly experienced during the inaugural launch... March 22, 2026 Former software engineer turned tech reporter. Explores AI, cybersecurity, gadgets and start-up culture.