Wall-Climbing Robots Debut on US Navy Warships

The US Navy is introducing robots that climb the outer walls of its massive warships to inspect for damage. The deployment of wall-climbing robots for maintenance and inspection on 18 US Navy Pacific Fleet warships is a strategy to quickly enhance fleet readiness and reduce repair delays by leveraging the latest technology.

Gecko Robotics, the developer of wall-climbing robot technology, has signed a five-year contract to apply this technology to 18 US Navy Pacific Fleet warships. The contract is valued at a total of $71 million, with initial funding reportedly reaching up to $54 million.

The introduced robots detect and provide data on micro-corrosion or cracks that are difficult to identify with the naked eye. This contract allows Gecko Robotics to establish a foundation for utilizing the technology in other military services beyond warships.