US Special Operations Forces Select Sea Machines for Vessel Autonomy Kits 

The agreement allows U.S. forces to order portable systems that add autonomous command-and-control capabilities to existing vessels.

BOSTON — Sea Machines Robotics says it has secured a five-year contract to supply vessel-autonomy kits to U.S. Special Operations Forces, giving the military a procurement channel for systems that can be installed on different types of boats.

The Boston-based company announced the indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contract, in a news release distributed by Business Wire reported Sept. 8. It did not disclose the agreement’s value or the number of kits that could be ordered.

An IDIQ contract establishes a framework under which a U.S. government agency places individual orders during a fixed period. It requires the government to purchase a stated minimum but does not mean that the contract’s full ceiling will be spent, according to the Federal Acquisition Regulation.

Sea Machines said its portable kits would allow Special Operations Forces to add autonomous command and control to “vessels of opportunity,” meaning boats selected for a mission rather than purpose-built autonomous craft. Intended applications include expeditionary logistics, intelligence gathering, surveillance, reconnaissance and maritime security.

The kits use the company’s autonomous command-and-control system. Sea Machines says they can be installed within hours and adapted to vessels of different sizes and performance specifications. The company described the equipment as commercial, non-developmental technology at Technology Readiness Level 9, the highest level on the commonly used readiness scale.

Those descriptions have not been independently verified. The announcement did not identify the vessel types covered by the agreement or provide technical specifications for the kits.

The contract gives Special Operations Forces the ability to order the equipment, but the release did not say whether an initial delivery order had been placed. It also did not identify an operational unit, deployment location or timetable for putting the systems into regular service.

Sea Machines develops autonomous navigation, remote-command and computer-vision technology for commercial and government vessels. Its systems are designed to automate functions such as route following, collision avoidance and remote vessel control.