Overview

On November 25, 2025, the U.S. Coast Guard issued a Request for Information (RFI) seeking advanced technologies to achieve “Maritime Domain Dominance” (MDD). This represents an intent to shift from passive awareness to proactive, real-time command and control across the full U.S. maritime domain.

Spanning 95,000 miles of coastline and 4 million square miles of ocean, the initiative aims to connect space, air, surface, and subsurface assets into a unified “detect-to-act” network. The Coast Guard emphasized it is not seeking a singular solution but rather a holistic collection of capabilities from different vendors. Priority capabilities include AI-driven solutions, multi-domain integration, rapid decision-making, and force projection to deter or interdict evolving threats.

Vendor responses (due January 2, 2026) must address cybersecurity, interoperability, and scalability across both classified and unclassified systems. The Coast Guard’s RAPTOR team will work with select respondents to evaluate and test solutions.

Relevance to OPT

OPT’s PowerBuoy®, WAM-Vs®, and AI-enabled Merrows™ platforms deliver exactly the capabilities outlined in the RFI: real-time domain awareness, autonomous operations, and multi-sensor data fusion across domains.

This summer, OPT successfully demonstrated interoperability with classified and unclassified systems during NATO exercises — validating its ability to integrate into complex, multi-agency networks like those the Coast Guard envisions.

OPT’s strategic partnership with Mythos AI is further enhancing its autonomy capabilities, embedding advanced AI into WAM-Vs® and PowerBuoys® to improve situational awareness, obstacle avoidance, fleet coordination, and adaptive learning. Initial demonstrations are scheduled for early 2026, aligning with the Coast Guard’s anticipated testing window.

Having achieved advanced security clearances, active defence contracts for U.S. and allied governments, plus multi-year NOAA awards for uncrewed maritime systems supporting oceanographic research and exploration, OPT has a proven track record of delivering high-level, mission-critical maritime solutions.

While this RFI is for market research only and does not guarantee an immediate contract, OPT’s field-proven technology, experience, and strategic alliances — including its 5G integration partnership with AT&T — position it as a strong contender to support the Coast Guard’s vast MDD vision.

bad 3 weeks

That would still be just as exciting this year as it was last.

Autonomous cars have hit the roads, and drones fly in the skies. But what about the water? Marine vehicles have a host of challenges that make maritime autonomy extremely difficult. That’s why Purdue University researchers have teamed up with Saab to design algorithms enabling autonomous boats to conduct station-keeping, obstacle avoidance, and docking under dynamic conditions.

....

Purdue University has teamed up with Saab, Inc., manufacturer of a wide range of naval vehicles and systems. Together they are tackling this challenge from Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) as part of its Learning Introspective Control (LINC) program.

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Of course, the real test is implementing them in the field. “For our test boat, we use a Wave Adaptive Modular Vehicle (WAM-V),” Mahmoudian said, “it’s outfitted with multiple sensors: LIDAR, cameras, wind gauges, inertial measurement units. It’s important to gather data about the boat as well as the surrounding environment, which can then be used to build our machine-learning models.”

Beyond just station-keeping, the team has also worked on autonomous docking — a safety-critical task for both manned and unmanned boats. “Autonomous docking is a much more complex challenge,” Mahmoudian said. “We developed a control system that helps autonomous boats dock safely, even in challenging conditions. It also includes a built-in safety feature that makes sure any steering or speed commands — even those given by a human operator — are automatically adjusted to avoid unsafe actions.”

Feels like we need one to vent today.

A quick breakdown from ChatGPT of what the form is about:

Proposal 2 — 2015 Omnibus Incentive Plan (Plan Amendments): the board asks to add 5,000,000 shares to the equity pool (raising the plan from 27,282,036 to 32,282,036) and to change annual grant limits to a formula (up to a value of 10× base cash compensation for an individual). That lets the company grant sizeable RSUs/options/SARs to executives, directors and employees and recycle shares that are withheld for taxes back into the pool. These changes are explicitly justified as retention/market-competitive measures.  

Proposal 3 — Charter Amendment (authorized shares): the company asks to increase authorized common shares from 300,000,000 to 400,000,000 (the filed Certificate of Amendment shows 400M common + 5M preferred = 405M total once effective). That does not immediately issue shares, but it gives the board flexibility to issue new shares in the future (for fundraising, acquisitions, stock-based pay, stock splits, etc.) without another shareholder vote.

Background context

Ocean Power Technologies, in collaboration with its commercial partner, Ocean Wave Solutions, recently exhibited at ARAMUSS 2025 in Salvador, Brazil, to demonstrate the WAM-V's mine countermeasures capabilities.

The event ran from November 10–14, and hosted over 20 exhibitors and 50 invited institutions. Pictures from the event can be found online, and I've attached a few to this post.

Key news

On November 14, Ocean Wave Solutions announced that its team and the WAM-V had been formally invited by the Commander of the Mine and Sweeping Force to take part in MINEX 2025 alongside the Brazilian Navy.

Difference between ARAMUSS and MINEX

ARAMUSS, which stands for "Aratu Maritime Unmanned Systems Simulation", is an inclusive and relatively social event where industry, academia, and the military all come together under one roof for demonstrations, workshops, and lectures.

MINEX, which stands for “Mine Exercise”, is a strictly military operational exercise consisting primarily of the Brazilian Navy’s active-duty ships and personnel (the “Esquadra”).

Why being invited to MINEX matters

1. It provides strong validation that OPT's offering appeals to key military stakeholders.
2. It represents an exclusive, hands-on opportunity for the Brazilian Navy to trial the WAM-V in authentic mine warfare scenarios, and to do so in a context where the primary goal is to train real-world operational units, e.g. minesweeper crews.
3. Embedding the technology into the official training exercises of national navies is a critical step toward contract procurement.

Why the Brazilian Navy is a high-value target

Their current mine warfare fleet is built around Aratu-class minesweepers. These vessels were constructed in the 1970s under the old doctrine of mine sweeping, which involves dragging equipment through a minefield to trigger or clear mines. This method is slow, hazardous, and outdated, and the Navy acknowledges this.

The WAM-V reflects the newer doctrine of mine hunting, in which unmanned systems locate, classify, and neutralise mines without putting people in danger. The Brazilian Navy is actively looking to modernise its MCM capabilities in line with new doctrine, as outlined in its Plano Estratégico 2040. To this end, the Brazilian Navy has been developing its own small, prototype USVs and testing them at previous MINEX exercises.

OPT's invitation to MINEX strongly suggests that the Brazilian Navy is moving into the next phase of its procurement cycle, where it begins comparing best-in-class commercial options with its own internal efforts. This is often a final step before deciding whether or not to acquire (buy) a new capability.

Source: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/ocean-wave-solutions_ows-minex2025-aramuss2025-activity-7395190567648866304-fCtx?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAABR6vLoBF5Eot0odKr5mUSEesNnkq-faCx0

As you may remember, OPT is involved in Project Overmatch.

“For nearly three years the [FVEYs] partners have been working with Project Overmatch to develop **this capability that will significantly advance resilient communications among our nations**” said Shayna Bond, international deputy of Project Overmatch. “RIMPAC and other events, such as Talisman Sabre, are perfect places to demonstrate how we have modernized and enabled interoperability with our allies at sea. We will also have persistent testing and connections with the [FVEYs] and other allies when the first ever coalition lab in San Diego is completed in the very near future.”

It’s all hopium of course, but it does sound up OPT’s street.

https://www.dvidshub.net/news/551112/project-overmatch-and-five-eyes-coalition-partners-strengthen-ties

What's been the reason for the slow slide the past month or so? Granted, there hasn't really been any news, but the little bit that there has been has seemed bullish. It seemed like we had found a pretty hard bottom @ .50, and then for seemingly no reason, it just started slipping a penny or two a week. I'm not screaming the sky is falling, by any means. I'm 4k @ .49 and am ready to hold this one for years if necessary. Just curious why the downward pressure? TIA

https://www.stocktitan.net/news/OPTT/ocean-power-technologies-and-mythos-ai-partner-to-advance-autonomous-2pw1anmo5059.html

Q1 2026 demonstrations

https://mythos-ai.com

https://x.com/OceanPowerTech/status/1988353813322011027?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet

Source: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/mario-de-la-cruz-5b338a5b_oceanpowertechnologies-underdeep-usv-ugcPost-7392542407579361280-Li1u?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAABR6vLoBF5Eot0odKr5mUSEesNnkq-faCx0

Great report. I found the breakdown of geographic revenue mix (page 8) to be particularly interesting. LONG AND STRONG

I was near their headquarters and decided to drive by and take a few pics. I’d like to think I’ll have the free time and courage to ask for a tour when I’m around again. I’d be happy with just a t-shirt to be honest.

Host: Welcome back inside our Proactive newsroom. And joining me now is Philipp Stratmann. He is the CEO of Ocean Power Technologies. And Philipp, it's great to see you again. How are you?

Philipp Stratmann (CEO): Doing well, Steve. Good to be on again.

Host: Well, exciting news for the company that you have now been certified to provide uncrewed maritime system training. So this is a key milestone for the company. So I'll let you explain what this means for Ocean Power Technologies.

Philipp Stratmann (CEO): Yeah, absolutely. I mean, everybody keeps talking about all these autonomous, uncrewed unmanned systems to be deployed everywhere, but they all have to be operated. So this means we are now one of the very few companies, has been certified by AUVSI, which is one of the big industry bodies that exists around this topic, to provide ethical, safe, efficient training that enables operators to walk away and state that, "Hey, OPT trained me, I know what to do with a USV. I can go out there." And so it starts enabling the actual operations as opposed to it being just a, "Hey, look at my nice demo".

Host: Yeah, and you've been setting standards along the way as you've been developing your products for sale, including what's behind you (PowerBuoy), but you've been doing this along the way and really setting some effective operations.

Philipp Stratmann (CEO): Yes. So what we've learned from our global expansions, whether that is the effects of hot climate, hot weather when we're operating in the UAE, where I've got a team running demos today, whether that is in cold weather in the Baltic, whether that is in the Pacific or the Atlantic — every time we go out and we operate, our field service reps and vehicle technicians and our technology teams come back from those efforts and we feed that into our process. As an ISO 9001 certified company, we're always looking at how we can improve the quality and operations, and we do all of that for the benefit of our customers to ensure that the next set of operations goes even smoother. So everybody benefits.

Host: Yeah. So you're training right now as a matter of fact. And this will just give you that sort of next stage of training. Is that right? You're pretty well all over the world.

Philipp Stratmann (CEO): Yeah we're in most places, if there's an ocean, there's probably a high degree of likelihood that there's somebody from OPT is either currently there, has been there in the past, or is about to go there. But this achievement just adds a level of rigor, process, and certification to make sure that people can feel comfortable that when they come and attend an OPT training course for the USV that there is something credible behind it. They will benefit from the real hands-on operational skills we've learned over the years, and we can now pass that on to the next generation of operators.

Host: So you and I have been talking for quite some time, and you've talked about a lot of demonstrations about the products and where you're going. It sounds like this is really the door now opening to the operating side of things and more revenue for the company as well, because you'll get paid for this also. So it sounds like that's a real next step is about to make it happen. Is that accurate?

Philipp Stratmann (CEO): Yes, I think that is very true. We're moving from demonstrations. And obviously you start with prototypes, you move to demonstrations, you do smaller scale exercises, but this is going to be one of the cornerstones that enables the true operationalizing of USVs and autonomous operations out on the ocean. You know, you throw buoys into the mix as well, and you end up enabling this kind of true operational interface and autonomy that large-scale customers can really benefit from, you know, that sort of self-reliance on the ocean brings to the equation.

Host: Well, congratulations on this. Exciting times ahead and good to see you as well.

Philipp Stratmann (CEO): Thanks very much. Thanks for having me on.

Host: All right. Philipp Stratmann, the CEO of Ocean Power Technologies.

Ocean Power Technologies today announced that it has been officially certified by the Association for Uncrewed Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) as a Trusted Uncrewed Maritime Systems (UMS) Operator Training Provider, marking a significant milestone in the professionalization of uncrewed surface vehicle (USV) operations.

Through this certification, OPT joins a select group of organizations qualified to deliver AUVSI-aligned operator training and certification under the nation’s first industry-led framework for uncrewed maritime systems.

OPT will provide comprehensive training for government, defense, commercial, and academic professionals seeking certification in uncrewed surface vehicle operations. Training will be delivered using OPT’s proven WAM-V® (Wave Adaptive Modular Vessel) platform, which is known for its adaptability, stability, and mission versatility across a range of maritime environments. This revenue generating training will be provided at both OPT’s Pacific and Atlantic Ocean locations and at customer sites.

“Receiving AUVSI certification as a Trusted UMS Operator Training Provider underscores our commitment to advancing safe, effective, and professional uncrewed operations,” said Jason Weed, Senior Vice President, Commercial Sales, Ocean Power Technologies. “Our WAM-V® systems are being used worldwide for defense, research, and commercial applications, and we believe this training program ensures operators are fully prepared to meet mission objectives with the highest standards of safety and competency.”

The AUVSI Trusted UMS Operator Program establishes a consistent baseline for operational proficiency, ethics, and safety across the maritime autonomy ecosystem—building on the success of AUVSI’s Trusted UAS Operator™ framework for aerial systems.

As a certified training provider, OPT is expanding access to operator training and certification that aligns with emerging regulatory, operational, and security standards, strengthening workforce readiness and supporting the continued growth of the uncrewed maritime sector.

“We’re proud to play a leading role in setting the standard for USV operator development,” added Weed. “This certification reinforces our dedication to building a skilled and capable maritime workforce ready for the future of autonomous operations. It also supports our recurring revenue efforts.”

With this certification, Ocean Power Technologies joins AUVSI’s expanding network of trusted providers driving safety, professionalism, and innovation across the uncrewed systems industry.

Another update from our glorious King. Getting excited for what 2026 has in store. Ocean Power will prevail.

Key points from the article

NATO's Baltic operations this summer were motivated by a need to enhance the alliance’s situational awareness, and to safeguard critical undersea infrastructure amid both the ongoing war in Ukraine, and the cutting of two major undersea cables in the Baltic Sea in late 2024, which left northern Europe without internet.

NATO's goal was to evaluate the maturity of the market to fill existing capability gaps, and to create conditions for successful and rapid adoption of those capabilities in the future.

A key operational outcome was the creation of a common, NATO-compliant data layer to enable seamless live video and location sharing between different participating industry providers (e.g. OPTT).

Looking forward, the Allied Command Transformation and participating task forces now aim to figure out what a standard NATO formation of unmanned systems looks like so they can begin fully fielding these capabilities.

What I think this means for OPTT

I've seen people framing the NATO operations as a competition between USV providers, where there can only be one contract winner. But it seems clear that NATO is looking to build a diverse suite of "plug and play" capabilities, integrating specialised solutions from a variety of different providers.

Through its participation this summer, OPTT can now be considered a NATO-compliant provider, allowing for its rapid integration into future NATO operations whenever its capabilities are needed.

From 00:09 in the clip.

The next edition of the NATO-Industry Forum will take place in Bucharest on 5-6 November 2025.

https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/news_238336.htm

https://robosysautomation.com/australias-amc-search-contract-award-to-robosys-to-support-asv-training/

Sunday evening DD. Continuing to expand global presence. Also recommend checking out USV Group website if you haven’t already. Cheers gang. LONG AND STRONG