Patriot3 Shows Maritime SOF Systems at Modern Day Marine

Patriot3, a Virginia-based small business that has spent years building specialized equipment for special operations forces and law enforcement worldwide, brought its full maritime and ground operations portfolio to Modern Day Marine this week — sharing a booth with Canadian sensor specialist Shark Marine Technologies and putting some of its most ambitious platforms in front of the Marine Corps audience that matters most.

The company set up inside the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C., where Modern Day Marine runs April 28 through 30. The joint display with Shark Marine Technologies — whose E-TAC diver navigation and sensor system appeared prominently in the booth’s backdrop imagery — reflects a partnership between two companies whose capabilities complement each other across the underwater and maritime special operations space.

Patriot3 began operations in Quantico, Virginia, the home of Marine Corps training and doctrine development, and that origin is not incidental. Building specialized equipment in the shadow of one of the Corps’ most important installations means years of proximity to the operators whose feedback shapes what actually works in the field versus what looks good in a brochure. The company has carried that orientation through its product line, which spans maritime unmanned systems, unconventional watercraft, and elevated tactics platforms designed for ground and special operations forces applications.

The Hammerhead SMV — a submersible motor vehicle designed to carry combat swimmers underwater — is among the platforms Patriot3 brought to the show floor, with a model on prominent display at the booth. The Hammerhead represents one of the more operationally specialized niches in the defense market: a vehicle that allows special operations divers to cover distance underwater without exhausting themselves before they reach their objective, preserving the physical and mental reserves that the mission itself will demand. Combat swimmer delivery has been a persistent special operations requirement for decades, and the Hammerhead is Patriot3’s answer to that requirement in a modern, purpose-built package.

Also in the Patriot3 display lineup is the Hercules XLUUV — an extra-large unmanned underwater vehicle that occupies the growing category of autonomous underwater systems capable of extended independent operation. The XLUUV designation places it in the same broad class as platforms that major defense primes have been developing for the Navy’s unmanned undersea vehicle programs, though Patriot3’s approach comes from the special operations and maritime security side of the market rather than the large-scale naval procurement pipeline. The Hercules represents the company’s push into longer-range, more capable autonomous undersea operations.

The ARON WIG Craft adds a dimension to the Patriot3 portfolio that few companies in this space can claim. A Wing-In-Ground effect vehicle operates in the aerodynamic region just above a surface — water or land — where ground effect dramatically reduces drag and increases lift efficiency, allowing the craft to travel at speeds and ranges that conventional boats cannot match while remaining too low for most radar systems to track effectively. It is a category of vehicle with obvious appeal for special operations insertion and extraction, coastal interdiction, and rapid maritime mobility in contested environments. Displaying it alongside the Hammerhead and Hercules positions Patriot3 as a company with answers across the full spectrum of maritime special operations mobility — underwater, on the surface, and skimming above it.

Rounding out the display, Patriot3’s Elevated Tactics Systems address the ground and special operations forces side of the company’s portfolio — equipment designed for the vertical and elevated environments where special operators work, from fast-rope insertions to urban assault scenarios where height and access matter. The inclusion of these systems alongside the maritime platforms reflects Patriot3’s positioning as a full-spectrum special operations equipment provider rather than a single-domain specialist.