Photo Credit: US Navy/Commander Task Force 68
AEVEX’s 1 acquisition of U.S. defense technology and shipbuilding firm BlackSea Technologies is yet another indication of how rapidly the defense industry is moving toward autonomous naval warfare. The deal, finalized on September 8, now gives AEVEX an established maritime manufacturing operation – and access to existing customers and capabilities – that can expand its business from unmanned aircraft into surface and underwater systems.
The acquisition comes as the U.S. military is investing billions in expanding its underwater capabilities, with autonomous systems being developed and deployed to detect mines or track enemy submarines without risking crews. The Pentagon has allocated $1.3 billion2 in fiscal year 2026 specifically to increase production of unmanned underwater vehicles, creating new opportunities for manufacturers like BlackSea and AEVEX, which have established production facilities and military customers.
What AEVEX Is Buying
Publicly traded American defense firm AEVEX3 specializes in the development of military drones, intelligence and surveillance systems, electronic warfare, and autonomous mission software. BlackSea brings a different set of capabilities. It develops unmanned surface vessels (USVs)4, which operate without onboard crews. BlackSea also develops subsea technologies like FISHER5, a mine-countermeasures system that deploys a VideoRay Defender remotely operated underwater vehicle (ROV) from its GARC unmanned surface vessel.
The company’s existing operations give AEVEX immediate access to a specialized maritime business without spending time building one internally and ultimately competing with experienced specialists at BlackSea.
BlackSea has already delivered more than 350 unmanned vessels6, with its systems accumulating over 25,000 operational hours. Its 57,000-square-foot facility7 in Baltimore has deepwater access and robotic welding capabilities, as well as the capacity to directly manufacture around 40 USVs each month. The acquisition also gives AEVEX access to existing U.S. Navy customers, and BlackSea’s former CEO, Bob Pudney, will remain responsible for the new Maritime Systems division.
Undersea Warfare Is Growing In Importance
Recent developments in Ukraine demonstrate why Western militaries are taking underwater warfare capabilities more seriously, both in terms of attacking enemy vessels and defending their own naval assets. On December 15, 2025, Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) announced that it had attacked a Russian Kilo-class submarine8 at the Novorossiysk naval base in southern Russia using a domestically developed underwater drone known as the Sub Sea Baby.
The submarine, which can launch Kalibr cruise missiles, reportedly suffered critical damage – and while Russia denied that the vessel had been damaged, footage verified by Reuters confirmed an underwater explosion near the submarine’s position at the time.
Inexpensive unmanned underwater systems can now threaten highly valuable naval assets, including submarines that are operating from heavily defended military facilities.
Western militaries are developing underwater weapons of their own, too. On September 30, the British Royal Navy announced that its experimental XV Excalibur submarine successfully launched an inert U.S. Mk48 heavyweight torpedo9 during trials in Scotland. The launch was conducted under the AUKUS partnership with the United States and Australia, and it showed how underwater platforms could soon undertake combat missions that previously required crewed submarines.
The importance of protecting underwater infrastructure has also become evident in the conflict with Iran. On October 11, Iran’s Supreme National Security Council secretary, Mohsen Rezaei, threatened to attack undersea communications cables10 and AI facilities across the Gulf region if fighting with the United States resumes.
World powers agree that autonomous systems capable of detecting underwater threats and monitoring enemy submarines are becoming an urgent necessity. These new capabilities will also be critical for protecting vulnerable seabed infrastructure. For AEVEX’s new Maritime Systems division, there will be opportunities extending well beyond traditional unmanned surface vessels.
A Broad Industrial Investment Trend
AEVEX is not alone in committing substantial capital to maritime defense technologies. On October 6, Anduril and the U.S. Navy announced a shared $6.6 billion commitment11 ($3.7 billion private investment by Anduril and a Navy contract worth up to $2.9 billion) to establish a new manufacturing facility at Sparrows Point, Maryland, that will expand production of components for Virginia-class nuclear-powered submarines.
While conventional submarine manufacturing differs considerably from autonomous vessel development, both investments reflect the growing importance of American maritime industrial capacity overall.
NATO is also testing autonomous systems at a larger scale, with its REPMUS exercise12 in Portugal, held between August 31 and September 25, involving approximately 300 unmanned systems and representatives from 36 navies.
Buying Expertise
According to AEVEX’s August 12 acquisition announcement, BlackSea is expected to generate approximately $150 million in revenue during fiscal year 2026. AEVEX agreed to purchase13 the firm for an initial $600 million, comprising around $250 million in cash and $350 million in AEVEX shares. The deal also includes an additional $50 million payment in shares if BlackSea meets specific financial targets, including generating $8.9 million in gross profit14 from U.S. government contracts, and AEVEX’s share price reaches a required level before the end of 2027. That brings the total purchase price to $650 million, or roughly 4.3 times BlackSea’s projected annual revenue. It’s a substantial purchase, but AEVEX is purchasing more than technology – it is gaining manufacturing infrastructure and operational experience at a time when the American naval industrial base is struggling with shortages of skilled workers and lacking production capacity – problems that have contributed to the U.S. Navy producing only around 1.1 to 1.215 Virginia-class attack submarines annually since 2022, well below its target of two per year.
As the U.S. military accelerates its investment in autonomous naval systems, AEVEX now has the facilities and expertise necessary to compete for a growing share of that spending – and BlackSea gives it a head start in a market that will demand production at scale.
References
1. “AEVEX Completes Acquisition of BlackSea Technologies,” Yahoo Finance, https://finance.yahoo.com/technology/articles/aevex-completes-acquisition-blacksea-technologies-113000056.html.
2. “Pentagon’s Spending Plan Doubles Down on Land, Air, Sea Robots,” Defense One, February 2026, https://www.defenseone.com/policy/2026/02/pentagons-spending-plan-doubles-down-land-air-sea-robots/411628/.
3. AEVEX, official website, https://aevex.com/.
4. BlackSea Technologies, “Unmanned Surface Vessel,” https://www.blacksea.tech/news/tag/Unmanned+Surface+Vessel.
5. BlackSea Technologies, “FISHER,” https://www.blacksea.tech/fisher.
6. “AEVEX Acquires BlackSea Technologies to Broaden Multi-Domain Autonomy Portfolio,” GPS World, https://www.gpsworld.com/aevex-acquires-blacksea-technologies-to-broaden-multi-domain-autonomy-portfolio/.
7. “AEVEX to Scale Air & Maritime Autonomy with New Acquisition,” Unmanned Systems Technology, August 2026, https://www.unmannedsystemstechnology.com/2026/08/aevex-to-scale-air-maritime-autonomy-with-new-acquisition/.
8. “Ukraine Hits Russian Submarine in First Underwater Drone Attack,” Reuters, December 15, 2025, https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukraine-hits-russian-submarine-first-underwater-drone-attack-2025-12-15/.
9. “Historic First as Royal Navy Launches Torpedo from Uncrewed Submarine,” Royal Navy, September 30, 2026, https://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/news/2026/september/30/20260930-historic-first-as-royal-navy-launches-torpedo-from-uncrewed-submarine.
10. Iran International, October 12, 2026, https://www.iranintl.com/en/202610126090.
11. “Anduril, US Navy Invest $6.6 Billion to Boost Submarine Parts Production,” Reuters, October 6, 2026, https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/anduril-us-navy-invest-66-bln-boost-submarine-parts-production-2026-10-06/.
12. “REPMUS 2026 in Portugal Brings Together NATO Allies to Test Uncrewed Maritime Systems,” NATO, October 8, 2026, https://www.nato.int/en/news-and-events/articles/news/2026/10/08/repmus-2026-in-portugal-brings-together-nato-allies-to-test-uncrewed-maritime-systems.
13. AEVEX, acquisition announcement link supplied with article, http://x.com/aevex-to-acquire-blacksea-technologies-strengthening-its-multi-domain-autonomous-systems-capabilities/.
14. AEVEX, SEC filing, June 30, 2026, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/2096300/000209630026000022/avex-20260630.htm.
15. Congressional Research Service, “Navy Virginia-Class Submarine Program and AUKUS Submarine Proposal: Background and Issues for Congress,” https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/RL32418.
