NOAA Ship Thomas Jefferson Returns to the Great Lakes to Map the Region
Economic Zone (EEZ).NOAA Ship Thomas Jefferson mapping off the coast of Cleveland, Ohio, in 2022, along with a NOAA plane collecting lidar data. (Credit: LCDR Michelle Levano/NOAA)Coast Survey’s primary mission is safety of navigation, ensuring the trillions of dollars in imports and exports, U.S. military, and recreational boaters transit safely across U.S. waters. Seafloor mapping data has uses well beyond nautical charts–storm surge models, for example, rely on understanding how much water is in a given area, and fisheries and marine sanctuaries need updated data to better classify and understand
Researchers Improving Collaboration Between Divers and AUVs
underwater vehicle (AUV) could map the line and pinpoint the location of the fault for a diver to fix?Such underwater human-robot teaming is the focus of an MIT Lincoln Laboratory project that seeks to leverage the respective strengths of humans and robots to optimize maritime missions for the U.S. military, including critical infrastructure inspection and repair, search and rescue, harbor entry, and countermine operations."Divers and AUVs generally don't team at all underwater," says principal investigator Madeline Miller. "Underwater missions requiring humans typically do so because
China Mapping Ocean Floor Ready for Submarine Warfare
the Pacific, Indian or Arctic oceans using a ship-tracking platform built by New Zealand company Starboard Maritime Intelligence.While the research has civilian purposes – some of the surveying covers fishing grounds or areas where China has mineral prospecting contracts – it also serves a military one, according to nine naval-warfare experts who reviewed Reuters' findings.To gather information about underwater terrain, research vessels map the sea floor while traveling back and forth in tight lines. The tracking data shows that type of movement by the vessels Reuters tracked across large
China Maps Ocean Floor as It Builds Submarine Warfare Capability
the Pacific, Indian or Arctic oceans using a ship-tracking platform built by New Zealand company Starboard Maritime Intelligence.While the research has civilian purposes – some of the surveying covers fishing grounds or areas where China has mineral prospecting contracts – it also serves a military one, according to nine naval-warfare experts who reviewed Reuters' findings.To gather information about underwater terrain, research vessels map the sea floor while traveling back and forth in tight lines. The tracking data shows that type of movement by the vessels Reuters tracked across large
Vatn Systems Acquires Crewless Marine
Vatn Systems, a defense technology company building autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) for the US military, allied nations, and commercial customers, announced the acquisition of Crewless Marine, a Rhode Island-based company specializing in advanced underwater acoustic sensing and signal processing.Founded by former Navy engineers, Crewless Marine brings experience in torpedo acoustic systems, hydrophone manufacturing, and real-time signal processing. The acquisition strengthens Vatn's strategy to vertically integrate its tech stack to control critical technologies, reduce supply chain dependenci
USACE's Major General Jason Kelly & Modernizing America’s Waterways
Soldiers graduate each year from other Fort Jackson schools and courses, such as the Drill Sergeant Academy, U.S. Army Institute of Religious Leadership, the Adjutant General School, Finance School, and Noncommissioned Officer Academy.Major General Kelly, a native of Flint, Michigan, attended the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York, and graduated in 1994 with a commission as an engineer officer.Major General Kelly holds a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from West Point, and master’s degrees in engineering management from the Missouri University of Science and Technology, in statistics
Vatn Systems Raises $60 Million Series A to Redefine Underwater Naval Warfare at Scale
Vatn Systems, a defense technology company building autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) for the US military, allied nations, and commercial customers, announced it has raised $60 million in Series A funding, bringing total funding to $76.5M. The round was led by BVVC, with participation from new investors such as Hanwha, Geodesic Capital, Airbus Ventures, Dauntless Ventures, Trousdale Ventures, and Veteran Ventures Capital. Major existing investors also participated in the round, including DYNE Ventures, Propeller Ventures, Decisive Point Ventures, SAIC Ventures, Centre Street Partners, Cubit
Kraken Books Multi-Million Dollar Sonar and Subsea Battery System Orders
has ordered both SAS systems and SeaPower batteries, which will be integrated on its Gavia and SeaRaptor autonomous underwater vehicles for undisclosed end-users.Kraken’s SAS will also support Terradepth’s Absolute Ocean operating system, which compiles multi-domain ocean data for U.S. military and commercial operators. Terradepth will equip a self-recharging autonomous underwater vehicle with the technology to expand large-scale autonomous survey capacity.Kraken said its SAS and subsea batteries were designed to be platform-agnostic, enabling integration on a wide range of autonomous
Kongsberg Discovery Receives U.S. DoD Certification for MBR Communication System
Kongsberg Discovery announced that its Mobile Broadband Radio (MBR) MK3 series has received DD1494 certification from the United States Department of Defense (DoD), authorizing the systems for use across U.S. military operations.The DD1494 approval confirms that the MBR MK3 series, operating in the frequency range between 4.400-5.000 GHz (Nato Band IV), meets the DoD’s requirements for spectrum-dependent equipment. This certification ensures the systems can operate within designated frequency bands without interfering with other military or government communications systems, while providing
February 2026
