Anduril Industries, a defense technology company, and OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT and frontier AI models such as GPT 4o and OpenAI o1, are proud to announce a strategic partnership to develop and responsibly deploy advanced artificial intelligence (AI) solutions for national security missions. By bringing together OpenAI’s advanced models with Anduril’s high-performance defense systems and Lattice software platform, the partnership aims to improve the nation’s defense systems that protect U.S. and allied military personnel from attacks by unmanned drones and other aerial devices.

Globally, naval forces are facing complex threats that will challenge our ability to compete with peer adversaries in future warfare. Recently our near peer threats have not been standing still, far from it. They have been observing our armaments, equipment, and tactics to develop an increasingly capable force of their own. As a result, naval forces now face a multitude of advanced threats; including uncrewed systems, anti-ship munitions and Cyber/EW effects to name but a few. As a result, naval forces are transforming physically, conceptually, and culturally to maintain advantage in an ever-shifting world shaped by technology, climate change and increasingly aggressive peers.

During a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) dive in the German Channel in Palau, the Ocean Exploration Trust (OET) witnessed four Palau nautilus individuals (Nautilus belauensis). These are the first sightings of nautiloids — the most primitive cephalopods — from E/V Nautilus after 1000+ ROV dives over the last 15 years of operations. This marine mollusk found in the Indo-Pacific is rarely photographed- let alone caught on video -and 2024’s expeditions represent the first of OET’s adventures within the nautilus’s expected distribution range. This expedition (NA169) was funded by NOAA Ocean Exploration via the Ocean Exploration Cooperative Institute.

Cellula Robotics, a leading innovator in autonomous marine systems, announced today that its Solus-XR XLAUV (eXtra Large Autonomous Underwater Vehicle) has successfully obtained MASS (Maritime Autonomous Surface Ship) compliance in Canada. This significant milestone follows the earlier MASS compliance of the Solus-LR AUV and underscores Cellula’s commitment to operational safety and technological advancement.

Impact Subsea, a leading manufacturer of underwater sensors, is proud to announce the launch of its newest sensor, the ISP360 Profiling Sonar with IS3 acoustic signalling technology.

Vatn Systems, a leading defense technology company building autonomous underwater vehicles for the US military and allies, today announced it has raised an oversubscribed $13 million seed round, bringing total funding to $16.5M. The round was led by DYNE Ventures with participation from Lockheed Martin Ventures, RTX Ventures, In-Q-Tel (IQT), Propeller Ventures, SAIC Ventures, Cubit Capital, Fortitude Ventures and existing investors that include Centre Street Partners, The Veteran Fund, Blue Collective, and Decisive Point.

BGF, one of the largest and most experienced growth capital investors in the UK and Ireland, announces an $18.9m (£15m) investment in Sulmara, an independent provider of innovative survey and inspection services to the offshore wind and energy markets.

Proserv, a leading provider of cutting-edge control technologies to energy companies, has today announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Verlume, a leader in intelligent energy management and subsea power solutions for the offshore energy sector. The MoU outlines an agreement to explore collaborative opportunities in the subsea power and renewable sectors, bringing innovative technologies to the rapidly evolving clean energy market.

Building on a transformative first year of uncrewed operations in Norwegian waters, Nordic USV and HydroSurv today announced the extension of their partnership with a 60-month lease agreement for the newly launched REAV-47 platform. This strategic advancement follows Nordic USV's successful first year with the REAV-28 'USV Nordy', which has been extensively fielded with more than 100 oceanographic monitoring missions from the vessel’s home port of Bergen.

Specialist provider of offshore support services, Interocean Marine Services (Interocean) has been awarded a four-year extension to its frame agreement with multinational power company, Vattenfall. Strengthening the existing relationship, the new contract will see Interocean introduce its remotely operated vehicle (ROV) inspection services to support Below Water Balance of Plant (BOP) for the Thanet, Kentish Flats, and Kentish Flats Extension wind farms, alongside the Aberdeen and Ormonde offshore wind farms it already supports.

Ashtead Technology, a leading global provider of subsea technology and solutions to the offshore energy market is pleased to announce the completion of its £63m acquisition of Seatronics and J2 Subsea. 

HyperKelp has been awarded a $1.3 million contract by the United States Navy, solidifying its position as the only company selected to advance buoy-based counter-hypersonic sensing technology. This award builds on the success of HyperKelp’s Kelp Smart Buoy (KSB) platform, a compact sonobuoy system that delivers vital, surface-based intelligence on hypersonic threats.

A team of British engineers based in Portsmouth has successfully demonstrated a new type of autonomous submarine, developed specifically for military use, off the south coast of England.

VideoRay, a global leader in underwater robotic systems, today announced that it has been acquired by BlueHalo, a defense technology company that brings to market next-generation capabilities to support customers’ critical missions and national security.

Ocean services provider DeepOcean has been awarded its largest contract on record, a long-term subsea inspection, maintenance and repair (IMR) contract by Equinor. The eight-year contract will set a new benchmark for digitalized and environmentally friendly IMR operations.

An influential forum of oil and gas operators with a vested interest in subsea operations is tackling the challenges of ageing offshore infrastructure through cross-industry collaboration. Early reports, since the forum was established by Global Underwater Hub (GUH), reveal that it has been instrumental in linking end-users to the supply chain in a bid to overcome barriers and accelerate solutions which will have a tangible impact on increasing efficiency and reducing operating costs as well as safety and environmental risks.

Omega Subsea, in partnership with Kystdesign, has successfully completed the Factory Acceptance Test (FAT) for two newly developed remotely operated underwater vehicles (ROVs) designed to meet the evolving demands of the subsea industry.

Showcasing the unrivalled quality and high performance of its low-density syntactic buoyancy material range, Base Materials has become the first syntactic foam subsea buoyancy manufacturer to receive DNV type approval (TAC) on its Subtec® 11500 material and Approval of Manufacture (AoM) for the complete range of Subtec® materials.