The acquisition aims to accelerate the development and large-scale production of autonomous platforms to safeguard the underwater battlespace. Helsing said the partnership will help provide democratic allies with an essential technological advantage in the maritime domain, enhancing sovereign capabilities across Europe and Australia, particularly in the North Atlantic and among AUKUS partners.
This strategic acquisition marks another step in Helsing’s expansion in maritime autonomy and AI. It follows the launch and successful testing of Helsing’s autonomous underwater glider, the SG-1 Fathom, at the British Underwater Test and Evaluation Centre (BUTEC) earlier this year, as well as the company’s £350 million investment in a new Resilience Factory in Plymouth.
Amelia Gould, General Manager, Maritime at Helsing, said: “The need for a smart autonomous mass-approach is clear, and together with Blue Ocean we can build an autonomous glider that provides a big leap forward to conduct underwater ISR for navies. Blue Ocean has been a key partner for us over the last 12 months and as we seek to significantly strengthen our maritime offer to Europe and AUKUS it makes sense for us to join forces. Together we can offer customers a unique blend of domain expertise, rapid innovation and advanced technology.”
Mike Deeks, Group Managing Director at Blue Ocean, said: “Since first meeting Helsing we have forged a strong working relationship bringing together our Autonomous Underwater Vehicle technology with Helsing’s impressive Edge AI processing to create a highly effective anti-submarine warfare and wide area surveillance capability. These are critical to compilation of the modern common operating picture and providing border and asset protection.”
