The US Navy just tried out a new AI-powered sonar system called SensorMAX during the RIMPAC 2026 exercises near Hawaii.
Built with Lockheed Martin, SensorMAX was installed on Seahawk helicopters to help aircrews flag potential threats by automating how underwater threats are detected and analyzed.
SensorMAX scans up to 8 buoys
SensorMAX uses artificial intelligence to scan data from up to 8 sonar buoys at once, twice as many as older systems.
It can update its algorithms midflight in under 5 minutes.
Devon Rodgers, vice president and general manager, Undersea Mission Systems, from Lockheed Martin says this tech blends commercial innovation with engineering expertise, making submarine hunting smarter and more efficient.