US drone boat 3D-printed with robotic system: nine days from design to sea trials

US company Haddy has built the TF-179 Drone Boat, an uncrewed vessel produced with large-format robotic 3D printing technology. The company announced the milestone in a LinkedIn post.

Haddy said projects like this show how digital manufacturing enables more flexible development cycles, greater design freedom, and a faster path from concept to deployment. The company also stressed that as demand for specialized maritime platforms grows, so must the methods used to build them, with the ability to quickly produce, evaluate, and refine complex systems becoming an increasingly important advantage.

The customer behind the TF-179 and the vessel's intended missions have not been disclosed.

According to Defence Blog, Haddy operates from a production facility in St. Petersburg, Florida, spanning about 2,800 square meters. The site is equipped with eight large-format additive manufacturing systems from Dutch company CEAD, seven of which are mounted on rails for producing oversized components.

Haddy previously used the same technology to print a carbon-fiber-reinforced hull for an uncrewed surface vessel built for HavocAI. The publication reports that the entire process, from design to sea trials, took nine days.

Haddy has also entered a manufacturing partnership with Blue Ops, the maritime arm of US defense firm Red Cat Holdings. The deal is expected to double Blue Ops' production capacity for its own line of uncrewed surface vessels.

Earlier reports noted that Ukrainian company Depthon Systems unveiled the SeaHive 5.0, a high-speed maritime drone carrier for strike FPVs, developed jointly with Red Cat.