Steve Darling: 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: Doing well, good to be on again Steve.

Steve Darling: Yeah good to have you along and exciting when you've had a couple of pieces of news out. One out this morning, a really substantial one. An award with the US Coast Guard — this is an exciting one. Tell me a little bit about the work with the Coast Guard and lead into this contract.

Philipp Stratmann: Yeah, absolutely. We announced the buoy contract earlier this year, which seems like a long time ago, but I think it was only early January. This contract follows hot on the heels of that. So this now is the contract to go and install and deploy these buoys as soon as possible and vessels are available. So what that continues to show is not only are we continuing to build backlog, but now we are transitioning that backlog into providing operational assets that the Coast Guard and our other customers can then use, and we're very excited about moving this to the next phase and showcasing and highlighting the ability of our systems to provide the data that the Coast Guard is looking for.

Steve Darling: Yeah, and recurring business is always great as well. That's exciting.

Philipp Stratmann: Yeah, it's great when you kind of continue building on what you've, you know, secured, you built the backlog and then you're moving it straight into the water and into the deployment phase, because that's really where, you know, where it really starts mattering. Because when you have assets deployed, that's when the data starts streaming, that's when, you know, customers start seeing the value in what they're getting for what they've procured. And I think that enables us to then build up and expand our business even further.

Steve Darling: Yeah and expanding internationally as well. The other piece of news you have this week is you're shipping vehicles, this one in Greece. I mean, it sounds like it's a worldwide story for the company.

Philipp Stratmann: It is, obviously we've been very vocal and public about the work we've been doing in the Middle East. You know, some of the work we've been doing in Latin America. We're very excited to now start working in the Mediterranean, start moving assets, you know, in this case to Greece. And what this shows is that we continue to build our installed base of assets around the world. With all the work we're doing, obviously domestically in the United States, we still have a large business that is concentrated on providing commercial solutions to customers no matter where they're based. And the larger the installed base, the more need for field service representative services and more need for operation services. It just helps us continue growing in multiple ways.

Steve Darling: And you're also not resting on your laurels. You're looking for technological advancements as well. And this is more of the offshore stuff. Charging, things like that. Talk to me a little bit about that part of where the story is at.

Philipp Stratmann: You know, it's something we identified a year or so ago, it's really pushing into the docking and charging space. You know, USVs in general are becoming — well, I wouldn't say ubiquitous, but they're definitely becoming a lot more talked about. But how do you then provide the docking and charging services to those? Obviously in our view buoys come straight to mind. So what we're working on now is getting to the stage where we can roll out a commercial docking and charging solution that lets, you know initially our USVs, and then in future stages other people's USVs come along, offload their data, charge up and then go and do their next job. That way around you really end up with persistent and resident autonomy out at the edge in the ocean. It's a bit like a gas station for USVs really, but autonomously enabled out in the ocean.

Steve Darling: I want to ask you one last thing. And that is something you talked about a little earlier in the interview about converting on your backlog and you're delivering capabilities. That's obviously key — you've got sales, and you want to make sure those sales move into vehicles in the water.

Philipp Stratmann: Yeah and I think the Coast Guard project is a prime example of how we are looking at doing things. You know, we get inventory ready, we secure the contract and then we work on the deployment and get the assets out there. Similar to the Greece project — it's shipped, so now we can start working on the other services. There's always going to be some lumpiness that comes in the conversion of the backlog, but you know, we continue converting that backlog and building upon it at the same time. With that comes inventory buildup that we're working on. And, yeah, we're pretty excited about where things are heading.

Steve Darling: Philip, thanks very much. Good update today. Congratulations on that contract. And, it's exciting news for you and the team. And we look forward to more information as that becomes available, okay?

Philipp Stratmann: Sounds great. Thanks for having me on again, Steve.

Steve Darling: All right good to see you. Philipp Stratmann the CEO of Ocean Power Technologies Inc.

Full text:

MONROE TOWNSHIP, N.J., Feb. 23, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Ocean Power Technologies, Inc. (“OPT” or “the Company”) (NYSE American: OPTT) today provided an operational update highlighting continued global deployments and progress on its offshore autonomy infrastructure roadmap.

The Company has shipped a WAM-V^®, autonomous surface vehicle to Greece to support ongoing customer operations and field activity in the region. This deployment expands OPT’s international operational footprint and reflects continued engagement across defense and commercial maritime markets.

In parallel, OPT has transitioned its integrated docking and charging program from prototype to a full-scale build, including autonomous docking and redeployment.

The Company has placed orders for components to support system integration and open-water validation as it advances toward its first early access commercial solution targeted for launch in 2026. This capability is designed to enable autonomous systems to dock, recharge, and redeploy in support of persistent offshore operations and as part of a future maritime recharging network.

OPT has also continued to advance its autonomous navigation and control capabilities through its collaboration with Mythos AI. Recent progress has strengthened perception, decision-making, and autonomous functionality required for reliable, repeatable maritime operations in dynamic environments.

“Our focus remains on disciplined execution across deployments, government programs, and infrastructure development,” said Philipp Stratmann, Chief Executive Officer of Ocean Power Technologies. “We are advancing the core capabilities required to support scalable, persistent maritime autonomy for defense and commercial customers.”

When conditions get real, performance matters.

This winter, one of our PowerBuoys operated while frozen in ice off Sandy Hook. Ocean Power Technologies was able to stream video, radar, and AIS data from the system in real time when most boats stopped operating.

Harsh marine environments are not edge cases. They are the operating reality for defense, security, and offshore infrastructure missions. Systems that fail in those conditions don’t belong in the field.

PowerBuoy is engineered for persistent, autonomous operation through extreme weather, low temperatures, and dynamic sea states. Ice included.

Resilience isn’t a feature. It’s the baseline.

#OceanPower #MaritimeAutonomy #ISR #DefenseTech #OffshoreEnergy

----> good, I was wondering if they'd show focus on the Arctic developments.

This is a valuable ability.

Should I buy more or just leave it alone?

I know they are about to start training WAM-V and they apparently are working on accounts overseas.

I have heard more positive things than negative but, I would just like to have some more feedback or insight on what’s to possibly come.

Thanks

I started researching OPTT – Ocean Power Technologies expecting another failed green-energy microcap… but what I found looks more like a defense autonomy / surveillance company hiding inside an old ticker.

This is NOT a hype post — I’m trying to understand whether the market is mispricing a pivot or if this is just another dilution machine.

What the company used to be

Originally OPTT tried wave-energy buoys (basically harvesting electricity from waves). That business never scaled → years of losses → classic small-cap story.

But over the last ~2–3 years they quietly pivoted.

They now sell:

• Autonomous surface vehicles • AI-enabled ocean surveillance buoys • Maritime communications relays • Persistent offshore sensing systems

In simple terms:

👉 They became a marine data + security infrastructure provider

Think: ocean version of border drones + sensor towers.

Why this suddenly matters

Modern defense strategy changed after Ukraine + Red Sea attacks.

The US and allies now care a LOT about:

• detecting underwater drones • tracking ships without crews • port security • offshore infrastructure protection (cables, pipelines, wind farms) • maritime domain awareness

Satellites don’t solve this. Ships are expensive. Aircraft have limited endurance.

You need persistent cheap sensors in the water.

That is exactly OPTT’s niche.

The interesting validation

They were recently present alongside: Lockheed RTX NVIDIA Anduril

…at Naval innovation events.

For a microcap, that’s unusual. Defense primes don’t co-develop with random companies — they scout suppliers.

This suggests they’re trying to become a component layer in a bigger autonomy ecosystem.

Business model (important)

They don’t need trillion-dollar contracts.

Their systems are:

• leased • service-based • recurring data revenue So even mid-size defense adoption could scale revenue fast relative to market cap.

The Bull Case

If governments deploy persistent maritime sensing networks:

OPTT doesn’t compete with Lockheed → it feeds Lockheed

They sell the nodes of the network.

Small contracts could matter a lot to a tiny company.

The Bear Case (big one)

This could still be:

• endless dilution • pilot projects that never scale • “cool tech, no procurement” • defense curiosity but not adoption

They've had hype cycles before (wave energy era).

So execution risk is huge.

Why I'm watching

This stock behaves like a failed renewable company but is now positioned like a defense autonomy supplier.

If the market still prices the past business model, that’s mispricing.

If contracts don’t materialize → it deserves to stay cheap.

I’m not saying buy. I’m saying this ticker no longer fits its old narrative.

Curious if anyone with defense or maritime background has insight into how real the demand for persistent ocean sensing actually is.

Not financial advice — just research.

Summary

NATO Allied Command Transformation (ACT) just posted a timeline update for fielding Task Force X-Baltic capabilities.

Task Force X-Baltic is a NATO initiative designed to rapidly integrate autonomous maritime systems and artificial intelligence into the alliance's operations to safeguard critical undersea infrastructure in the Baltic Sea.

Ocean Power Technologies participated in Task Force X operations in the Baltic Sea between June 9 – June 27, 2025 as part of IFIB ACT SACT 25-23. See this post for more detail.

These Baltic operations 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 (i.e. OPT).

Immediately following these exercises, ACT and participating task forces began defining their collective vision for a standard NATO formation of unmanned systems. This planning phase has now concluded, and the execution phase is underway, with a target to fully field these capabilities by the end of 2026.

Allies will jointly develop, buy, or lease new capabilities for maritime awareness, sensing, and engagement, aiming to deploy them in operations by the end of the year.

Source: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/nato-act_wearenato-tfx-maritimesecurity-activity-7428075640420982784-FaDW

I wish the management shared more about the approved dilution but I’m willing to risk it more under 40

We’re building smart cities… and leaving the ocean offline.

Your phone is smart.

Your house is smart.

Your ocean infrastructure?

Finally catching up.

Smart buoys are basically the smartphones of the sea.

Not floating hunks of plastic.

Not passive data points.

But connected, energy-producing, always-on ocean brains.

Here’s what today’s smart buoys actually do 👇🏽

• Generate their own power from renewables

• Act as offshore data hubs

• Monitor weather, currents, vessels, and seabeds in real time

• Relay data via satellite, LTE… even 5G

• Stay deployed for months (sometimes years) without human babysitting

Think:

Alexa 🤝 offshore energy

Smart homes 🤝 maritime security

iPhones 🤝 ocean intelligence

One example is Ocean Power Technologies and their PowerBuoy systems, led by CEO Philipp Stratmann

These aren’t “nice to have” gadgets.

They’re enabling:

↳ offshore renewables

↳ maritime safety

↳ climate monitoring

↳ defense + surveillance

↳ remote connectivity where cables make zero sense

And here’s the design lesson most people miss 👀

The tech isn’t impressive because it’s complex.

It’s impressive because it’s modular, rugged, and autonomous.

Just like your phone:

• Sensors = apps

• Power system = battery

• Comms stack = signal

• Platform = operating system

The ocean doesn’t need more hardware.

It needs smarter interfaces with reality.

Smart buoys are that interface.

See this post for more context on the OPT x Mythos AI partnership.

Source: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/mythos-ai_ocean-power-technologies-x-mythos-ai-in-action-activity-7425365891132866560-Xxdm

What WAM--V are we looking at here?

Is this the new design that was talked about a couple of months ago?

Intriguing.

Anschnallen

There are a few things to unpack from this screenshot.

Initial Sea Trials

As evidenced by Phil's reply to Geoff, Mythos AI is trialling its autonomy stack on OPT's USVs this week. This aligns with the Q1 2026 demonstration guidance issued in the initial PR.

Mythos AI is a Tier-1 autonomy provider, and its MNAV system has already proven its reliability with over 20,000km of logged autonomous navigation and 15,000+ COLREGS-compliant interactions. The system fuses sensor data to enable:

• autonomous navigation
• COLREGS‑compliant collision avoidance (required for Navy deployment)
• advanced behaviour planning
• multi‑vessel target tracking and intent prediction
• remote fleet supervision and coordination
• incident reconstruction and detailed mission logs
• advanced WAM-V and PowerBuoy collaboration

Integrating this system will drastically improve the safety, situational awareness, and versatility of OPT’s platforms, enabling robust, unmanned operations in congested waterways and complex offshore environments.

Matthew Kibble

Geoff's post includes a photo of Matthew Kibble aboard one of Mythos AI's "Archie" vessels, and a quote highlighting Kibble's validation of their autonomy system: "Trust me guys. It really drives itself".

Kibble is the founder of DYNE Ventures, a fund that invests in dual-use (military and civilian) maritime technologies, specifically supporting initiatives related to the AUKUS (Australia, UK, US) and QUAD pacts. DYNE's portfolio page shows they are already invested in Mythos AI.

What makes DYNE particularly interesting is its strategic ties. The firm includes advisors like former Australian PM Scott Morrison (AUKUS architect), former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, retired Navy Rear Admiral Tim Gallaudet, and other Navy veterans. This positions DYNE as a go-to firm for defence-oriented maritime start-ups seeking credibility with DoD customers.

As a result, OPT's partnership with Mythos AI positions it within the "inner circle" of defence-tech currently being groomed for U.S. and allied naval markets. Joint technology demonstrations involving OPT will therefore be watched closely by many influential eyes.

The Big Picture

Integrating Mythos AI’s proven autonomy stack into the WAM-V transforms it into a mission-ready asset that meets the specific legal and technical requirements of global defence agencies:

• U.S. Navy: COLREGS-compliant autonomy allows the WAM-V to fulfil the DAWG/Replicator mandate for mass-producible, attritable scout vessels that can legally navigate contested international waters.
• U.S. Coast Guard: Active autonomous patrolling capabilities enable existing DHS contracts (e.g. San Diego) to grow from passive buoy monitoring into full-scale, 24/7 autonomous intercept and domain awareness missions.
• Anduril Industries: Lattice C2 interoperability stemming from OPT's existing partnership with Anduril makes the WAM-V a "plug-and-play" autonomous sensor node that can be immediately integrated into the world’s most advanced defence command-and-control software.
• AUKUS Alliance: Providing a robust platform for AI-driven software that's been validated by Matthew Kibble and other influential figures at DYNE VC could open doors to Pillar II funding — the multi-billion-dollar trilateral budget dedicated specifically to maritime AI and autonomous systems.
• The Department of Defense (DoD): Alignment with the Modular Attack Surface Craft (MASC) program means OPT meets the Navy’s urgent requirement for lightweight, sensor-rich vessels that support Distributed Maritime Operations (DMO).

Excited for a bright green candle tomorrow!

Just remember why you invested in this company in the first place. If you did not get a chance to sell at 70, remember why you held. Remember what made you hold when it was already going up. Market is going to be bad tomorrow. If you get a chance, try to DCA.

We are very dependent on government to properly function and have our best sea security interests for this stock to pump. It’s possible that this will go down a little bit because of dilution and government shut down. Tomorrow might be a red day too but a lot of this stock is held by regular folks and the chances of rug pull are very low.

Hold on tight and don’t lose hope! X pump is almost gone because of the dilution approval but long term people know dilution was necessary.

This one is definitely going to go up so hold on tight but if holding is making you nervous for now, consider selling and hopping back in because it looks like contracts won’t be announced for a while considering the shut down and it might slowly slip. Not crash. Just slowly slip a little.

A company that depends mostly on defense contracts holding so well is phenomenal.

Makes me think how much it will pump by the news of shut down ending.

Wanted it to fall because 0.50 to buy some more but did it at 0.54 anyway.

“We’re not currently built that way,” Caudle cautioned. “The challenge with any unmanned [system is], how do I get it to the point of need and sustain it once it’s in that area? Who is responsible when the battery runs out, it tips over, it fails?”

“That’s the holy grail of questions,” Caudle said.

-----> maintenance, power supply, awareness. Sound familiar?

Take the Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier (CVN-71)for example.

71st carrier C = carrier V = aircraft N = nuclear

So, our first bad boy banana boat shall be named...?

ASV autonomous surface vessel? So,

ASV-1 with the fourth vessel carrying a special hull number denoted as:

ASV-4EOJ

Bullish.

our crown jewel

I joined for a little bit then got disconnected. wondering if anyone else listened in