The sea has always been central to global power, shaping both trade and security. Today, with China’s shipbuilding capacity outpacing that of the United States and asymmetric threats like drones and anti-ship missiles rising, the Navy faces a stark dilemma: how to project strength without placing $2 billion destroyers in harm’s way. Into that challenge sails Blue Water Autonomy, a Boston-based startup founded by Navy veteran and robotics entrepreneur Rylan Hamilton. Its solution: autonomous ships. “If you look at the geopolitical threats that are out there, and especially with the current administration, all the focus is on the Pacific and China,” Hamilton told PYMNTS CEO Karen Webster. “If you take a historian’s viewpoint, maritime dominance has been important for the United States over the last a hundred years.” Against that backdrop, he told Webster that the U.S. has been lagging behind some of its rival nations. China’s shipbuilding capacity is 200 times greater than that of the United States. Their navy is at a similar tonnage to the U.S. “We still have the best Navy in the world, but if we ever got into a conflict,” said Hamilton, “we don’t have the ability to repair and build ships at the pace that China does, especially manned ships.” By building autonomous ships, the company envisions improving the Navy’s operations, with a scalable seaworthy platform that can tackle various functions at sea. The model also has implications for supply chains and international trade.

Full interview : Blue Water Autonomy is designing autonomous ships that will extend U.S. naval reach and transform trade and defense while reducing costs and risks.

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