Kongsberg Discovery Acquires Sonatech, Expands in the United States
Kongsberg Discovery announced on June 17 the signing of an agreement to acquire Sonatech, an expert in the field of underwater acoustics.This strategic move will support Kongsberg Discovery’s growth ambitions and enhance access to the U.S. Navy for the company’s product portfolio. The acquisition is expected to close later in 2025, subject to the necessary governmental approvals.With over 50 years of experience, Sonatech is a leading undersea acoustics engineering and manufacturing firm supporting U.S. Navy projects in the defense sector. For Kongsberg Discovery, the acquisition of SURF
NUWC Division Newport: $2 Billion Impact on Economy in 2024
Newport had 89 active cooperative research and development agreements (CRADAs), 74 collaborative projects with academia and employees published 176 technical papers. Between fiscal years 2020 and 2024, Division Newport employees have generated 162 patented inventions.Division Newport operates under the Navy Working Capital Fund (NWCF) model, which means it receives funds from multiple “customers” to execute tasking within its assigned mission. Those utilizing the NWCF model receive no directly appropriated funding and operate like a nonprofit business with a “customer-provider&rdquo
Undersea Warfighting Development Center Leadership Visits NUWC Division Newport
A constant co-evolution of technology and operational concepts is critical to providing the best warfighting capabilities possible to the U.S. Navy’s submarine fleet. In support of that mission, the Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC) Division Newport and the Undersea Warfighting Development Center (UWDC) continue to have a strong working relationship.On March 31, the warfare center welcomed UWDC Commander Rear Adm. Michael R. Van Poots and some of the organization’s senior leaders for a full day of tours and discussions. Van Poots was joined by Dennis Boyer, SES, deputy commander; Capt.
US Navy Divers Get Augmented Vision Display
divers to better operate in inhospitable underwater environments.The Divers Augmented Vision Display (DAVD) was developed in partnership with Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) and Coda Octopus.Through real-time information sharing, high-resolution imagery and an augmented-reality display, DAVD allows Navy divers to operate more effectively in dark, low-visibility environments.Navy diving missions include deep ocean salvage of vessels and aircraft, underwater rescues, explosive ordnance disposal, ship hull maintenance and recovery of sunken equipment. This often involves working in pitch-black, dangerous
From Seismic Surveys to Hunting Subs, Sea Serpent Passes the Test
MIND Technology said it completed a successful demonstration of its Sea Serpent low-cost anti-submarine warfare system as a part of the U.S. Navy's Coastal Trident 2022 exercise. For the demonstration the system was deployed from an Unmanned Surface Vehicle (USV) and successfully executed an autonomous mission to detect a realistic underwater target.Sea Serpent is based on MIND's commercially developed SeaLink seismic streamer technology which is used for seismic surveys. Sea Serpent can be used for harbor security, maritime domain awareness, or ASW (anti-submarine warfare) and provides a
Fredericksburg Christian School Robotics Team Places First at Innovation Challenge @Dahlgren
. FCS earned $3,000 for their first-place finish. Lancaster County High School took second and a $1,500 prize, while Bridging Communities Governor’s Schooltook home $500 for their third-place finish. Students begin programming their robots on day one of the Innovation Challenge @Dahlgren. (U.S. Navy Photo/Released)King George High School (KGHS) Instructional Technology Liaison Ameer Mir was initially concerned that he wouldn’t have enough students to participate. However, the school had the largest turnout of students compared to the rest of the competition. KGHS fielded three teams with
NAVCENT Launches Saildrone in Gulf of Aqaba for Exercise Digital Horizon
USV into the water for the first time from the Royal Jordanian naval base in Aqaba, Jordan. Last month, U.S. and Jordanian naval leaders announced the base would become a joint hub for Saildrone operations in the Red Sea.“These are exciting times for Task Force 59 as we team with the Royal Jordanian Navy to establish our hub for Red Sea operations in Aqaba and deploy some of our new maritime robotics,” said Capt. Michael Brasseur, commander of NAVCENT’s new task force for unmanned systems and artificial intelligence.The Saildrone Explorer is a 23-foot-long, 16-foot-tall USV reliant on
Huntington Ingalls Industries Debuts Proteus USV
Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE: HII) debuted the 27-foot Proteus unmanned surface vessel (USV) for testing and development of autonomy capabilities. Proteus, outfitted with Sea Machines Robotics’ SM300 autonomy system, completed a successful demonstration off the coast of Panama City, Fla., on May 14.“We are thrilled to launch our Proteus USV. The vessel performed exactly as expected with the SM300 system’s proven and safe autonomous capability,” said Duane Fotheringham, president of the Unmanned Systems business group in HII’s Technical Solutions division.
Greensea Receives US Navy Award
. This project has been funded in whole or in part with Federal funds from the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, under Contract No. N6833521C0113.The Phase II award will further the development of Greensea's long range standoff command and control system for ROVs towards providing the US Navy a capability of conducting waterborne Explosive Ordnance Disposal operations with marine robotics from a safe standoff distance. The standoff system is hardware, transmission, and vehicle agnostic and provides high levels of autonomy for the ROV as well as the coordination of launch and recovery
February 2025
