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HONOLULU — Lockheed Martin and the U.S. Navy have demonstrated an AI-enabled antisubmarine warfare system at RIMPAC 26, showcasing a rapidly retrainable sonar “expert” designed to speed threat detection and improve underwater tracking. The system, called SensorMAX, monitors spectral energy including subsurface acoustic data and is augmented by over-the-air model updates intended to strengthen the Navy’s subsurface detection capabilities.
SensorMAX ingests acoustic inputs from a network of sensors, streams data to aircrews, and forwards information to a ground station. When a new target is identified, operators label the noise signature, retrain the model on the fresh data, and transmit a small update packet back to the aircraft. The closed-loop workflow—capture, label, retrain, and deploy—enables continuous situational awareness, with each retraining cycle taking under five minutes.
Off Hawaii during RIMPAC, two MH-60R helicopters equipped with the AI/ML system executed ASW missions against an undersea threat. The aircraft deployed sonobuoys as underwater microphones, feeding acoustic data to SensorMAX. Acting as a portable sonar expert, the system persistently monitored multiple sonobuoy feeds to assist with target identification; its interface allowed aircrews to manage up to eight simultaneous surveillance feeds, doubling legacy capacity. Ground operators retrained models on new sounds in minutes and pushed AI-enhanced undersea intelligence back to the helicopter and the fleet via an encrypted data link.
Lockheed Martin said the exercise shows that pairing MH-60R helicopters with AI-enabled acoustic tools can detect and track underwater threats faster and more effectively than traditional methods, advancing the Navy’s plan for broader crew‑uncrewed teaming.
“Today’s battlespace requires the defense industry to accelerate capability delivery and seamlessly integrate commercial technology; at RIMPAC 2026 our mission‑focused engineers demonstrated exactly how we are meeting that challenge,” said Devon Rodgers, vice president and general manager, Undersea Mission Systems. “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.”
The company highlighted several core capabilities: cross-sensor AI training that can handle data from commercial and defense systems; a lightweight, portable design intended for use in the air, at sea, or on land; rapid in-flight classifier updates to shorten detection-to-engagement timelines; and OTA model delivery. In collaboration with FUSE Inc., SensorMAX can receive secure, resilient software updates on deployed aircraft without interrupting operations.
By demonstrating platform-agnostic AI for undersea intelligence and classification, the approach is intended to let future fleets leverage a wide range of acoustic sensors to expand the protective ring around high-value assets and accelerate the ASW kill chain.
