Deep open-ocean survey is among the most demanding work at sea, and its value reaches well beyond a map of the seafloor. Surveys like these characterize the operating environment itself, such as the terrain, the acoustics, and the shifting conditions that shape how naval forces move and operate far from shore. It sends assets hundreds to thousands of nautical miles offshore for extended missions, and crewed survey ships can cost tens of thousands of dollars a day to operate.

NAVOCEANO and the wider Navy have steadily expanded their use of uncrewed systems for these missions to lower cost, reduce risk to personnel, and cover more ocean with fewer assets. The award is a multi-year, multiple-award, indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contract, with a $40 million ceiling, which Blue Water Autonomy will compete for alongside the other selected companies.

“Mapping the open ocean is exactly the kind of long, high-endurance work that autonomous vessels are built for,” said Rylan Hamilton, CEO of Blue Water Autonomy. “This selection puts our autonomy to work across the Indian and Pacific oceans, well beyond the range of a crewed survey ship, and it shows the technology we are building serves many different missions.”