US Navy tests Lockheed Martin AI sonar system SensorMAX during RIMPAC exercise

Published Aug 10, 03:01 PM UTC

The U.S. Navy tested an artificial intelligence-powered sonar system, SensorMAX, developed by Lockheed Martin, during the multinational Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise in July 2026 near Hawaii. The system uses AI and machine learning to analyze acoustic sensor data from sonobuoys dropped by Navy MH-60R helicopters. It assists crews with target identification and can retrain its models on new sounds in under five minutes, transmitting updates over encrypted data links to aircraft and fleet. SensorMAX allows aircrews to manage up to eight simultaneous sonobuoy feeds, doubling legacy capacity. The system is platform-agnostic and integrates data from various sensors for air, ground, and naval operations. The article also notes that China is integrating AI into anti-submarine warfare, citing Chinese media claims of AI evaluating data from multiple sources.