Seagate has expanded its LaCie Rugged series with the Rugged SSD Pro5, a portable SSD featuring Thunderbolt 5 connectivity for high-speed data transfer and enhanced compatibility. As per our headline, this new device is claimed to be able to transfer data at up to 6,700 MB/s. The SSD Pro5, announced at CES 2025, is designed to meet the storage demands of professionals working with large data files, such as raw images, video, and high-resolution audio.There are not a lot of external SSDs offering support for Thunderbolt speeds. For example, the Samsung X5 that we tested, supports Thunderbolt 3 and offers sequential read and write speeds of up to 2,800 MB/s and 2,300 MB/s respectively. Or if you want something faster, the OWC Express 1M2 is another Thunderbolt/USB 4.0 external SSD (with a removable M.2 drive) that can go beyond 3,000 MB/s. However, neither of the devices comes even close to the performance that Seagate is claiming for the new LaCie Rugged device.The Rugged SSD Pro5 offers read speeds of up to 6,700 MB/s and write speeds of up to 5,300 MB/s. This makes it the fastest external SSD on the market, provided you are connected to a Thunderbolt 5 compatible device. The SSD is said to feature a 50GB cache, and once that is consumed, performance drops to 5,000 MB/s read 1,800 MB/s write.Essentially the drive is suitable for demanding workflows such as 8K video editing, large-sized media transfers, and large-scale data backups. The drive offers backward compatibility for devices using Thunderbolt 4 and USB 10/20/40Gbps USB-C hosts on Windows, macOS, and iPad Pro, offering a minimum 15W of power.(Image credit: Seagate)Durability remains a cornerstone of the LaCie Rugged series. The SSD Pro5 features an IP68-rated design that protects against water, dust, shocks, and drops of up to three meters. The drive is reinforced with a rugged rubber enclosure and is built with 45% recycled materials, for those who care about the environment.Seagate will initially offer storage capacities of 2TB and 4TB, catering to diverse needs, from casual fieldwork to extensive professional projects. As with most of its products, the Rugged SSD Pro5 will come with Seagate’s Rescue Data Recovery Services in case of accidental data loss, alongside a limited five-year warranty. Pricing starts at $399.99 (2TB) and $599.99 (4TB) with global availability starting later this month.Get Tom’s Hardware’s best news and in-depth reviews, straight to your inbox.