Gecko Robotics secures $300 million contract with US Navy

Gecko Robotics this week said it earned another $300 million from its contract with the U.S. Navy and General Services Administration. With the increase, the U.S. Navy and GSA quadrupled Gecko’s maximum contract value to reduce maintenance delays and improve fleet availability. The news came just six months after the initial $71 million IDIQ contract award.

This quadruple expansion will enable rapid deployment of robots across the Navy and is one of the strongest public endorsements yet of operational artificial intelligence and robotics in defense, Gecko Robotics said. The Pittsburgh-based company said this demonstrates the Pentagon’s confidence in providing a core military capability to produce results, not experimental technology.

“The conversation around AI and robotics in defense is no longer about experimental technology. It’s about delivering impactful, measurable returns,” said Jake Loosararian, co-founder and CEO of Gecko Robotics.

“With savings of millions of dollars per ship, months of inspections turned into days, and warships returning to sea faster, the U.S. Navy is demonstrating to the world how to deploy the technology at scale,” he added. “We are proud to give our service members the tools they need to stay ahead of emerging threats.”

Gecko said its artificial intelligence and robotics technology can save the U.S. Navy up to $8 million in repair costs per ship and get ships back to sea more quickly. It does this by identifying structural problems up to 50 times faster than traditional methods, reducing inspections from months to days.

Komodo scans the deck covering without removing it

At the heart of the expansion is Komodo, a proprietary Gecko robotic technology system. Komodo scans through thick, non-slip coatings on decks without removing or damaging them, giving the Navy the ability to see the health of assets without dismantling them.

It produces a full-deck heat map of corrosion and material thickness, allowing repair teams to spot damage and plan work before a ship enters dry dock, which was previously only possible after maintenance had begun.

The cap increase comes as the Department of the Navy places greater emphasis on fleet readiness as a national security priority. Every extra day a warship spends in maintenance reduces its ability to deter adversaries, respond to crises and project power around the world, the Navy said. The Chief of Naval Operations has set a target of 80% fleet availability, which Gecko will play a crucial role in helping to achieve.

Gecko’s robots, drones and fixed sensors collect an unprecedented amount of data on the health of U.S. Navy ships and submarines, including components, hulls, decks and welds, while artificial intelligence is used to create accurate models to identify any current and future structural problems, even those that cannot be seen by the human eye.