Saronic has selected Brownsville, Texas as the site for Port Alpha, a next-generation shipyard the company says will help expand U.S. maritime manufacturing capacity through a planned investment of more than $3 billion. The facility is designed for software-defined shipbuilding and autonomous maritime systems, with construction expected to begin this year and operations slated to start in 2028.
Situated on 835 acres at the Port of Brownsville with room to expand to nearly 4,400 acres, Port Alpha will initially be capable of producing vessels up to 850 feet long, with future expansion supporting vessels over 1,200 feet. Saronic projects the project will create up to 10,000 direct jobs over the next decade, spanning welding and machining to robotics, software engineering and naval architecture, and cites estimated regional and state economic impact in the hundreds of billions of dollars.
“America’s maritime future depends on our ability to build again,” said Dino Mavrookas, Saronic co-founder and CEO.
Port Alpha builds on Saronic’s existing shipbuilding footprint, which includes a Franklin, Louisiana shipyard acquired in early 2025 where the company is investing $300 million to add production capacity. That facility continues to produce Saronic’s 180-foot Marauder autonomous vessel.
The announcement comes after Saronic’s smaller Corsair unmanned surface vessel saw its first combat use. On July 12, U.S. Central Command confirmed three Corsair one-way attack drones struck a submarine and ship maintenance facility at Iran’s Bandar Abbas Naval Base — the first time American forces have employed sea drones in combat operations. The Navy’s Task Force 59 began fielding Corsairs in the Middle East in late March under a $392 million production contract signed in December 2025, and the same platform was used in June to help locate and recover two U.S. Army aircrew after their AH-64 Apache went down near Oman. Saronic has said it is working to integrate additional mission sets onto the Corsair, including loitering-munition launchers.
