worth keeping a eye out for what the competition has. hard to...

worth keeping a eye out for what the competition has.  hard to know exactly what the competition is as not knowing the price range and real capability  but it should give some perspective to everyone that UUV is not in a league of their own and all ideas they display are not new to the people that buy these units especially for mission critical roles.

There is no end to the massive number of things navies look at for years and a lot of the time they just get their existing suppliers to adapt existing equipment to perform similar tasks  unless there is a "killer application"that can only be achieved by the new product. It is a years long process to get orders IMO for deployed equipment not just tests and real value doesn't hit bottom line until you have product used in many areas.  Great to keep on their doorstep and keep ear to ground of what they want and accept feedback but in the end you need em to purchase or be able to apply knowledge to other areas and get sales  base .   I have seen products fail because the companies didn't have access to a proprietary item from another firm who wouldn't partner or release their technology and later that very competitor integrated the benefits of the company they refuse to deal with.  It is a very tough game with very big players who play rough.   These large companies have great access and knowledge of countermeasures , tactics and the way in which navy's and research organizations use equipment in the field.  


https://www.defensenews.com/digital...cheaper-and-can-be-refueled-deep-under-water/

These guys need a base of sales to support ongoing product development and if they are chasing the large boys they  to the time it takes for evaluation , test purchases and possibly later a implementation . Old military contacts only get you so far and are expensive so tailoring devices to target this market can be a tough gig to get over the many hurdles.  That is why there are so few defense suppliers and they are big IMO.

https://www.hydroid.com/