WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Lockheed Martin is investing $50 million in sea drone maker Saildrone to help equip its biggest surveillance drones with missiles, marking the first time the long-distance autonomous ships will carry high-powered missiles aboard.

The weaponization plan announced on Wednesday comes as the Pentagon seeks to counter China's growing naval power in the Pacific and applies lessons learned from Ukraine's effective use of explosive-laden sea drones against Russian warships in the Black Sea.

Under the deal, Saildrone's 72-foot-long (22 m) "Surveyor" ship - a scientific data and intelligence-gathering autonomous vessel powered by wind, diesel, and solar - will be modified to carry Lockheed's JAGM Quad Launcher missile system and anti-ship missiles, according to a joint statement.

Lockheed's investment will also establish collaborative systems integration teams to accelerate design and manufacturing of larger Saildrone platforms capable of carrying longer-range Tomahawk missiles and submarine-detecting towed sonar arrays.

The companies plan to conduct live-fire demonstrations on the water in 2026.

Saildrone vessels have been deployed by the U.S. Navy since 2021 on surveillance missions and are currently operational "24/7/365 alongside American Sailors in combat theaters around the world," according to the statement. The company has logged over 2 million nautical miles on customer missions.

With $5 billion in funds appropriated for uncrewed ships and maritime robots in the "Big Beautiful Bill", many firms are vying for a piece of the action.

Saildrone will maintain shipbuilding responsibilities while Lockheed serves as lead mission integrator. Development work will create jobs at Austal USA on the Gulf of Mexico coast, where Saildrone's larger systems are produced, though the companies said the work could eventually scale to other U.S. shipyards.