Principal Electrical Engineer

SNC and Fairlead forge landmark partnership to produce AEGIR USVs, answering U.S. Navy's call for a larger fleet at scale. Partnership Unites Decades of Defense Innovation with Proven Shipbuilding Prowess, Intended to Deliver Thousands of Mission-Ready Unmanned Surface Vessels TAMPA, Fla. (May 19, 2026) - In a move to bolster U.S. naval dominance, SNC, the global aerospace and national security company, and Fairlead, have forged a strategic partnership to domestically produce unmanned surface vessels (USVs). The companies intend to manufacture the largest variant of SNC's AEGIR family of USVs, creating an immediate, scalable domestic production capability. The agreement is engineered to accelerate the schedule for fielding USVs at scale, directly answering the Department of the Navy's recent call to expand the fleet by 2031. By combining SNC's TRL 9, mission-proven AEGIR USV with Fairlead's expansive U.S. shipbuilding and systems integration expertise, this partnership delivers what the nation requires now: surge production at the pace of need. The collaboration is purpose-built to execute against the Department's demand signal for thousands of attritable maritime platforms - providing the U.S. Navy with a reliable, cost-effective manufacturing solutions to achieve its force-level aspirations. "This agreement is the first of many across our AEGIR family of systems that represents the activation of a powerful, existing industrial capability to solve one of the Navy's most critical challenges," said Tim Owings, executive vice president of SNC. "The AEGIR USV is a proven, open-architecture system ready for the mission today. With Fairlead, we are not just building a few boats - we are turning on a production engine that can rapidly deliver autonomous systems, giving our warfighters a decisive edge and overwhelming our adversaries." This partnership is built on a foundation of stability and long-term commitment. Both SNC and Fairlead are privately held, U.S. companies that represent more than eight decades of reinvestment-driven growth. With a singular focus on the warfighter, this is the kind of industrial partnership the National Security Strategy was designed to inspire: American manufacturing, workforce development and investment in the future of deterrence. Why This Partnership Redefines Naval Scaling: Accelerate the Schedule - Solve the Production Crisis. This alliance exceeds requirements for scaling investments by establishing a tangible, high-rate production line for a TRL 9 platform. It closes the gap between the Navy's strategic goals and the industrial base's current capacity, executing directly against the November 2025 Acquisition Transformation Strategy's mandate to deliver capability at the pace of need. Operationally Validated. AEGIR's successful deployment in an active maritime theater in early 2026 demonstrated USV doctrine at TRL 9. With more than 100 units deployed, it is the only USV proven effective up to Sea State 5. This performance eliminates the developmental risk that has historically slowed Navy fielding decisions and provides the engagement data that Department planners and allied navies require to commit to scale procurement. Strengthens the American Industrial Base. By leveraging the resources of two recognized leaders in the U.S. defense and maritime industries, this collaboration injects resilience and confidence into the supply chain where it's needed most. This partnership represents a commitment to American manufacturing and investment in the defense industrial base. Industry Capital Aligned with Long-Term Demand Signals. Both SNC and Fairlead are committed to the future of the Navy. SNC is widely known for its investment-forward approach, supporting customers across programs to ensure mission success at the pace of need. As a veteran-owned company, Fairlead is dedicated to investment in the mission-critical systems that bring America's warfighters home. Together, the privately held companies aim to invest in the technology and infrastructure necessary to achieve the long-term goals of the US Navy and its partners. Immediate, Open-Architecture Capability. The AEGIR family of systems' open-architecture design aligns directly with the Software Acquisition Pathway and Commercial Solutions Openings now established as default acquisition approaches. This allows for rapid and continuous integration of new payloads and mission packages without costly redesigns. "Fairlead was built to support the U.S. Navy. Our waterfront facilities, our skilled workforce and our integration expertise are ready to scale the AEGIR platform immediately," said Fred Pasquine, President and CEO of Fairlead. "Together with SNC, we are creating a national asset delivering readiness to the U.S. Navy. The November 2025 Acquisition Transformation Strategy made the Navy's posture explicit: it wants dependable, sovereign, high-volume production partners that can deliver hulls on the schedule the warfighter requires. That is exactly what this partnership fields." The SNC-Fairlead partnership accelerates the delivery of the largest variant of the AEGIR USV, providing the U.S. Navy a low-risk, high-reward pathway to a larger, more capable, and more distributed naval force. About SNC SNC is a trusted global leader in aerospace and national security. Its innovative solutions enable connected protection through command, control and communications systems, as well as ISR, cyber, electromagnetic spectrum management, and other high capabilities for national security systems across all domains - sea, land, air, space and cyber. As a longstanding leader in defense technology, SNC is at the optimum intersection of commercial, defense and non-traditional contractors. Sierra Nevada Corp is one of the only privately owned mid-tier A&D contractors and Sierra Nevada Corp pride ourselves on its ability to invest early and often to ensure mission success on or ahead of schedule. It's part of its mission to always stay one step ahead; working on solutions today to solve the problems of tomorrow. Learn more at www.sncorp.com. About Fairlead Fairlead is a veteran-owned shipbuilder and shipboard system integrator. For over 40 years, Fairlead has been a premier provider of integrated power and control systems, modular shipbuilding, boat overhauls, and advanced mobile containerized systems for the U.S. Navy and the broader defense and maritime industries. Fairlead provides the shipbuilding and integration backbone for America's defense readiness. Learn more at www.fairlead.com. Ayse caglar. Vice President Communications

U.S. Army boosts Gray Eagle drone with advanced electronic intelligence upgrade. Image: General Atomics The U.S. Army has awarded General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI) a contract to equip its MQ-1C Gray Eagle Extended Range drone with upgraded electronic intelligence capabilities, strengthening its ability to detect and locate enemy air defence systems. The new electronic intelligence (ELINT) sensor package will allow Gray Eagle ER aircraft to operate beyond the reach of adversary threats while scanning deep into contested airspace. The upgrade directly supports the Army's Integrated Air Defence System (IADS) mission, feeding real-time intelligence to ground commanders. GA-ASI President David R. Alexander said the combination of long-range detection and the platform's endurance ensures commanders can track when an adversary IADS is active. He added that Gray Eagle's open systems architecture makes the integration straightforward but operationally significant, according to GA-ASI. Targeting enemy air defences. The ELINT sensor identifies and geo-locates critical threats essential to Joint Force Operations. GA-ASI will partner with Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) and the Capability Program Executive for Intelligence and Spectrum Warfare to integrate advanced radar detection and signal collection technology into the platform. The upgrade enhances Gray Eagle ER's value in contested environments where identifying and suppressing enemy air defences is a prerequisite for broader operations. By keeping the drone outside threat envelopes, the Army also reduces risk to crewed aircraft operating in the same battlespace, a key objective in modern manned-unmanned teaming concepts. A platform built for multi-domain operations. The ELINT upgrade is one layer of a broader sensor modernisation effort. Gray Eagle ER has already demonstrated modernised Communications Intelligence (COMINT), Synthetic Aperture Radar and Moving Target Indicator (SAR/MTI) capabilities, and Mobile Ad Hoc Network (MANET) radios across multiple Army exercises. These capabilities align with the Army's C5ISR Modular Open Suite of Standards (CMOSS) architecture, a framework designed to allow rapid integration of new sensors, payloads, and weapons as threats evolve. The approach gives programme managers flexibility to adapt the platform without costly redesigns. Proven in contested environments. Gray Eagle ER demonstrated its multi-mission potential during Project Convergence Capstone-5 (PCC-5), the Army's large-scale modernisation experiment held last year. Operating in an electronically contested environment, the aircraft conducted persistent Detect, Identify, Locate, and Report (DILR) missions while simultaneously providing aerial mesh network support to manoeuvre units. The exercise highlighted how the platform can bridge communication gaps caused by terrain or range limitations, connecting soldiers and launched effects that might otherwise lose contact. Critically, it did this while remaining resilient to jamming. PCC-5 also demonstrated the platform's human-machine interface improvements, which reduce the cognitive burden on operators by automating certain inputs. Gray Eagle ER cross-cued ELINT, COMINT, SAR, and Aerial Tier Network Expansion (ATNE) data during the exercise, boosting force survivability across the Combined Joint Task Force. Strategic context. The upgrade reflects broader U.S. Army efforts to modernise its unmanned aerial systems for high-end conflict scenarios. As near-peer adversaries invest heavily in integrated air defence networks, the ability to detect, locate, and characterise those systems from standoff range has become a critical operational requirement. Gray Eagle ER's persistent endurance and open architecture position it as a central node in the Army's emerging intelligence and targeting networks.