Overview
- Gecko Robotics and the U.S. Navy announced Tuesday that the contract ceiling for AI-enabled inspection work has risen from about $71 million to $300 million to widen deployments across the fleet.
- The deal backs new hardware called Komodo that the company says can scan steel beneath thick deck coatings without stripping them and feed data into Gecko’s Cantilever AI to map corrosion and material loss.
- Gecko and its CEO report the tools use wall‑climbing robots, drones and fixed sensors to find flaws faster and to shorten inspection-to-repair planning times, with company claims of up to $8 million in savings per ship and much faster detection rates.
- Gecko also disclosed a partnership with defense firm Anduril to apply its inspection tech in submarine-component manufacturing and the planned Arsenal-2 shipyard, extending use from ship decks to industrial production lines.
- Navy leaders view the program as a way to raise fleet readiness toward an 80% target by reducing time in dry dock and easing shipyard labor pressures, though the company’s performance and savings figures have not been independently verified.