Saronic Technologies held a ground-breaking ceremony on Sept. 30, 2026, for its $3 billion Port Alpha manufacturing facility at the Port of Brownsville.
The shipyard will generate up to 10,000 jobs and create an estimated $264.5 billion in economic impact for the state of Texas, marking one of the largest economic development projects in Texas history.
“The seas of the world will be ruled by warships built in the great state of Texas,” Gov. Greg Abbott said. “For 10 years, Texas has ranked No. 1 in the United States for creating new jobs, and Port Alpha will build on that record to strengthen Texas' workforce and shape the arc of national security.”
Abbott touted Port Alpha as the most advanced shipyard in the world and highlighted Texas' leadership in bringing defense manufacturing home.
The shipyard, which will build both autonomous and manned ships, represents a private capital investment of more than $3 billion to create a stronger U.S.-built commercial and defense fleet. This development will ensure national security, economic prosperity, and freedom on the seas.
At opening, Port Alpha will introduce an initial 150,000 gross tons of annual shipbuilding capacity, more than double the current U.S. commercial shipbuilding capacity. Saronic is working with the state of Texas, Cameron County, and regional educational institutions to develop engineering pipelines, technical training and apprenticeship pathways that put industry careers within reach for Texans.
The 835-acre site in Cameron County is in the Port of Brownsville, which is already home to most of the United States' shipbreaking industry.
The new shipyard will be Austin-based Saronic's third; it already operates a factory in central Texas that builds 25-ft. Corsair autonomous boats and runs former Gulf Craft shipyard in Franklin, La., where it builds the unmanned medium surface vessel, USNI News reported.
Saronic CEO Dino Mavrookas didn't detail the types of ships it would build in Brownsville, but in renderings it released previously, the company showed ships about the size of a San Antonio-class amphibious warship.
The Cameron County commissioners approved a 95 percent, 19-year tax abatement for the estimated shipyard earlier in 2026.
Saronic debuted as a venture capital startup, making small autonomous boats. The Navy has bought $350 million in small vessels from Saronic, as well as its design for the medium unmanned surface vessel.
