Subsea work is stuck in a cost-and-logistics cul-de-sac: crewed launch vessels, one-off vehicles, limited endurance. While other areas like transport and aerial defense are being transformed by new autonomy and cost-enabled operating models, maritime operations is lagging behind.
Two breakthroughs blow that wide open.
- Self-Guided Docking Between UUVs & USVs – A vision-plus-acoustics guidance stack lets an underwater drone slip into a surface mothership’s bay in under two minutes, recharge, off-load data, and redeploy—no winch, no crew, no idle time. One USV can now cycle a half-dozen UUVs for 24/7 coverage and multi-month missions.
- Mass-Manufactured, Low-Cost Vehicles – By leveraging new batteries, additive hulls, and modular avionics, complete UUVs can be fielded for < 10 % of legacy AUV pricing. Affordable, swappable units enable you to scale fleets quickly and work more efficiently.
Why it matters: 90 % lower CAPEX, 90 % lower OPEX, and mission envelopes that jump from 10 km to 1,000 km—transforming offshore wind inspection, littoral ISR, salvage, ecosystem restoration and more.
Attendees will leave with a concrete roadmap—and cost model—showing how autonomous docking plus low-cost fleets flip subsea operations from bespoke projects to industrial scale.
