Lockheed Martin has taken a next-gen AI-powered sonar system to sea, putting its submarine-detection capabilities to the test during RIMPAC 2026.
Conducted off the coast of Hawaii, the demonstration saw two SensorMAX-equipped MH-60R helicopters deploy sonobuoys that captured subsurface activity and streamed the acoustic data to the AI-enabled system.
SensorMAX continuously analyzed the incoming data, displayed it through an interface capable of managing up to eight simultaneous surveillance feeds, and assisted aircrews in identifying potential submarine contacts.
When the system detected unfamiliar signatures, the data was sent to ground operators, who retrained the AI models in less than five minutes before transmitting the updates back to the helicopters through an encrypted link.
“Today’s battlespace requires the defense industry to accelerate capability delivery… Our mission‑focused engineers demonstrated exactly how we are meeting that challenge,” said Devon Rodgers, vice president and general manager of Undersea Mission Systems at Lockheed.
“Lockheed Martin is investing its own resources to mature AI capabilities, blending commercial innovation with our engineering expertise so the navy has the technology it needs for tomorrow’s battles.”
Unwrapping SensorMAX
According to the company, SensorMAX is designed to process data from a broad range of defense and commercial sensors.
It can integrate inputs from acoustic, electromagnetic, gravitational, and other energy-detecting sensors without being limited by frequency.
The system also features a modular architecture and compact classifier models smaller than one megabyte, making them easier to share and deploy across platforms.
Lockheed added that SensorMAX’s core algorithm can also be adapted to process sensor data across multiple operational domains.
