Blue Water Autonomy, the Boston-based technology and shipbuilding company designing and building highly producible unmanned ships for the U.S. Navy, today announced it has entered into a production agreement with Conrad Shipyard, a premier Gulf Coast shipbuilder headquartered in Louisiana. The partnership marks a major step forward in Blue Water’s plan to deploy autonomous surface vessels at fleet scale. The news comes just weeks after Blue Water announced its Series A, bringing the company to $61 million raised to date, and reflects the company’s continued momentum in building operationally ready, scalable unmanned ships that meet near-term defense priorities. “We’re designing for deployment, not just demonstration,” said Rylan Hamilton, co-founder and CEO of Blue Water Autonomy. “Conrad is a world-class shipbuilder with proven capability, and this partnership puts us in a position to deliver ships quickly, while demonstrating the expertise and scale of existing U.S. shipbuilding capacity.” Under the agreement, Conrad will assemble Blue Water’s first class of autonomous ships. Conrad plans to use multiple facilities to take advantage of its advanced shipbuilding approach, including highly automated panel line and welding techniques, allowing for parallel builds and scalable throughput. “Blue Water Autonomy’s design reflects the kind of forward-looking innovation that U.S. shipbuilders are ready to deliver,” said Cecil Hernandez, President and CEO of Conrad Shipyard. “We’re proud to support this program and help bring autonomous naval capabilities to life with the speed, precision, and craftsmanship we’ve been trusted to deliver for over 75 years across commercial and military shipbuilding.”

Full report : Blue Water Autonomy Taps Conrad Shipyard to Build Autonomous Surface Vessels.

For more see the OODA Company Profile on Blue Water Autonomy.