Vatn Systems, a defense technology company building autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs), has acquired Rhode Island-based Crewless Marine to bring advanced underwater acoustic sensing and signal processing capabilities in-house. Vatn said the deal strengthens its vertical integration strategy by giving it tighter control over critical acoustic technologies, reducing supply-chain dependencies, and accelerating development cycles for autonomous undersea systems.
Crewless Marine—founded by former Navy engineers—adds expertise spanning torpedo acoustic systems, hydrophone manufacturing, and real-time signal processing, and is currently executing a Navy SBIR focused on AI/ML multi-sensor, multi-target localization. As part of the transaction, Crewless co-founders Steve Bordonaro, PhD, and Philip Caspers, PhD, will join Vatn as Chief Engineer for Systems and Director of Acoustics, respectively. Financial terms were not disclosed.
KEY QUOTES:
“With this acquisition, we’re solidifying our leadership position in undersea acoustics and accelerating our ability to deliver high-performance, low-cost torpedo solutions at scale. Acoustic sensing is fundamental to undersea warfare, and owning this capability end-to-end enables us to advance our mission while positioning us to expand into the harbor defense and environment monitoring markets.”
Nelson Mills, Co-Founder and CEO, Vatn Systems
“Joining Vatn allows us to scale the technologies we’ve spent our careers developing and bring them to a broader set of missions. We’re excited to accelerate what’s possible in acoustic sensing and undersea warfare together.”
Steve Bordonaro, PhD, Co-Founder, Crewless Marine
