America's Special Operations Command is reaching out to defense contractors to find out what kind of electronic eavesdropping gear could be fitted onto maritime drones, according to DefenseScoop.
SOCOM and its innovation partner, the SOFWERX hub, are leading the effort — framed as a market research initiative designed to survey what industry currently has available. The goal is to identify technologies that could add electronic intelligence, or ELINT, collection capabilities to unmanned vessels already operating at sea.
ELINT refers to the gathering of intelligence by intercepting and analyzing electronic signals — think radar emissions, communications frequencies, and other data broadcast by ships, submarines, or coastal installations. Mounting that capability on a drone rather than a crewed vessel means special operations forces could potentially gather that intelligence covertly and without putting personnel at risk.
SOFWERX serves as SOCOM's dedicated hub for rapid prototyping and connecting the command with non-traditional vendors, startups, and established defense firms alike. Framing this as market research suggests the program is still in early stages — the command is essentially asking industry to raise its hand before any formal contract or procurement process begins.
The move reflects a broader trend in which the U.S. military is pushing to make unmanned systems do more than just observe or strike — increasingly, they're being asked to serve as persistent, autonomous intelligence-gathering platforms in contested maritime environments. If successful, equipping sea drones with ELINT sensors could give special operations forces a quieter, lower-risk way to monitor adversary naval activity far from shore.