The US Navy has entered into a new partnership with Gecko Robotics to identify maintenance and repair requirements on warships faster and more accurately. According to the report, the Pennsylvania-based company will deploy its wall-climbing robotic inspection systems and artificial intelligence-enabled data analysis tools to assess the condition of several naval platforms, particularly destroyers. The agreement was structured as a five-year Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract, with a ceiling value that could reach up to $71 million.

In the first phase of the program, Gecko Robotics is expected to operate on 18 ships assigned to the US Pacific Fleet over the next nine months. These inspections will include destroyers, amphibious warships, and littoral combat ships. According to Gecko Robotics CEO Jake Loosararian, the initiative is directly tied to the Navy’s broader objective of increasing fleet readiness to around 80 percent by 2027. The report also noted that, as of April 2025, the operational readiness rate for surface ships stood at approximately 68 percent.

What makes the project particularly significant is its effort to modernize and digitize conventional maintenance inspection processes. Gecko’s robotic systems can move across ship hulls, decks, and welded sections while conducting non-destructive inspections and collecting large volumes of structural data in a much shorter time. Traditional inspection methods have long depended on manual evaluations performed by shipyard personnel, but this new model allows data gathered by robots to be processed through software, making it easier to determine exactly which areas require repairs or further attention. The company claims its technology can identify potential repair needs up to 50 times faster than conventional methods.

This approach is expected not only to shorten maintenance timelines, but also to reduce costs and improve the fleet’s operational predictability. Loosararian emphasized that the Navy is working toward building a “living digital record” for its most critical platforms, an effort that could play a major role in achieving future readiness goals. The report added that Gecko has previously worked on destroyers, amphibious ships, and aircraft carriers, but this latest agreement represents the largest contract the company has received from the Navy so far. The development signals that robotic inspection and maintenance technologies are moving beyond experimental use and into broader operational deployment across naval fleets.