US Navy Awards $40 Million Contract for Autonomous Ocean Mapping

The Naval Oceanographic Office selected six companies, including Ocean Power Technologies, Inc. and Blue Water Autonomy, Inc., for a $40 million multiple-award, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract. The initiative focuses on high-resolution ocean-floor mapping using long-endurance unmanned surface vehicles across the Indian and Pacific Ocean basins.

The contract includes a two-year ordering period from August 2026 to July 2028, during which the selected contractors will compete for individual task orders. By utilizing autonomous systems, the government aims to replace expensive crewed survey ships, thereby reducing costs and personnel risk while expanding the scope of environmental data collection in the deep open ocean.

Jason Weed, Senior Vice President of Commercial Sales at Ocean Power Technologies, described the award as a validation of the company's efforts to transition commercially proven technologies into operational capabilities for Department of War customers. Rylan Hamilton, CEO of Blue Water Autonomy, noted that autonomous vessels are specifically built for the long, high-endurance work required to map the open ocean.