The U.S. Navy has expanded its contract with Gecko Robotics for AI-enabled repair robots to a $300 million ceiling, scaling the technology from the Pacific Fleet to the Atlantic Surface Fleet.
Gecko Robotics announced the increase on Oct. 20, 2026, six months after the initial five-year agreement. That original deal carried a ceiling of $71 million, according to Gecko co-founder and President Troy Demmer, and covered 18 Pacific Fleet ships. Defense News reported the initial agreement as a $54 million indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract.
The expansion brings the total contract value to up to $300 million, Demmer said. The company uses drones, wall-climbing robots and fixed sensors to collect data on ship components, decks, welds and hulls, then applies AI tools to identify structural issues not visible to the naked eye.
A key piece of the technology is Gecko’s Komodo system, a ground-driving robot that assesses the condition of steel beneath a ship’s deck coating without stripping the coating away, using electromagnetic acoustic transducer technology to measure steel thickness.
“Gecko’s AI and robotic technology can save the U.S. Navy up to $8 million in repair costs per ship and return vessels to sea quicker by identifying structural issues up to 50 times faster than traditional methods — reducing inspections from months to days,” the company said in a release.
Demmer said the technology allows Navy engineers to know what needs repair before a maintenance period begins, while the ship is still in the water, reducing surprises that extend maintenance schedules.
The Navy has set a goal of reaching 80% fleet readiness by 2027, a target adopted by Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Daryl Caudle from his predecessor Adm. Lisa Franchetti. Caudle has said achieving this requires shorter maintenance cycles, increased spare-parts availability, improved training pipelines and targeted upgrades across the fleet.
Sources: DVIDS News · DefenseScoop