What Vatn Systems does

Vatn Systems, Inc. is a Rhode Island–based defense technology company that designs and manufactures autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) and supporting navigation systems for maritime security and commercial use cases. Founded in 2023 by Nelson Mills, Freddie Mills, Geoff Manchester, and Dan Hendrix, the company has built a modular product portfolio spanning the Skelmir S6 and Skelmir S12 defense platforms, the Torsk 6 and Torsk 12 commercial AUVs, and INStinct — a proprietary inertial navigation system for GPS-denied maritime environments built around ANELLO Photonics' silicon photonics optical gyroscope. Core enabling technology is autonomous navigation software effective in GPS-, vision-, and comms-denied environments, paired with cooperative swarming capabilities (time/space synchronization, stealthy low-bandwidth inter-vehicle comms, advanced path planning) and an ATAK/CivTAK mission-planning plugin that lets a single operator coordinate hundreds of units.

The business model is primarily hardware sales of low-cost, mass-deployable AUVs to government defense customers, with the Skelmir S6 priced at approximately $75,000 per unit — a fraction of incumbent heavyweight torpedo and large-AUV pricing. Distribution is direct enterprise field sales to U.S. military branches, allied nations (with Singapore's Defence Science and Technology Agency as the first disclosed international customer), and select commercial maritime buyers. By July 2025 the company had delivered 12 vehicles against orders totaling tens of millions of dollars, opened a Bristol, Rhode Island manufacturing facility rated at 2,000+ vehicles per year (versus an industry standard of ~200), and accumulated $76.5 million across a $13M seed (Nov 2024, led by DYNE Ventures) and a $60M Series A (Oct 2025, led by Bravo Victor Venture Capital). Strategic partners include Palantir (manufacturing AI), Quaze Technologies (wireless charging), Hanwha (U.S. Navy joint development), and ANELLO Photonics (SiPhOG IMU); the January 2026 acquisition of Crewless Marine vertically integrated torpedo acoustics and hydrophone manufacturing. Vatn was recognized on Fast Company's World's Most Innovative Companies of 2026 list.

Name

Vatn Systems

Legal name

Vatn Systems Inc.

Website

https://www.vatn.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2023

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Vatn Systems designs and manufactures low-cost autonomous underwater vehicles and the INStinct inertial navigation system for GPS-denied maritime environments, serving the U.S. military, allied nations, and commercial maritime customers. Founded in 2023 and headquartered in Rhode Island.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (Defense & Maritime)

NAICS

Search, Detection, Navigation, Guidance, Aeronautical, and Nautical System and Instrument Manufacturing (334511), Guided Missile and Space Vehicle Manufacturing (336414)

SIC

Search, Detection, Navagation, Guidance, Aeronautical Sys (3812), Guided Missiles & Space Vehicles & Parts (3760)

akta.pro primary industry

Maritime Unmanned Systems (USV/UUV) & Control Stations (IMABAKAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Autonomy Software, AI & Mission Management (UAS/UXV) (IMABAIAH), Unmanned Underwater Vehicle (UUV) & Autonomous Submersible Manufacturing (IMAJAOAC), Unmanned Underwater Vehicles (UUV) & Autonomous Subsea Platforms (IMABAIAF), Marine & Underwater Robotics (USVs/UUVs) (HDAAAIAH)

Keywords

• Autonomous underwater vehicles
• Maritime defense technology
• Underwater navigation systems
• Cooperative swarming drones
• Subsea military vehicles

Headquarters

HQ city

Portsmouth

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Personnel, Infrastructure, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Defense AUV Sales: Sale of autonomous underwater vehicles (Skelmir S6, Skelmir S12) to U.S. military, allied nations, and international defense agencies. Vehicles priced at approximately $75,000 each for mass deployment scenarios
2. INStinct Navigation System Sales: Sale of proprietary inertial navigation systems to defense and commercial maritime customers for both Vatn's own vehicles and third-party platforms
3. Commercial AUV Sales: Sale of Torsk commercial AUV products for port security, search & recovery, law enforcement, and commercial inspections

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Vatn Systems designs and manufactures modular autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) for defense and commercial maritime customers. Its product portfolio includes the Skelmir defense line (S6 and S12 torpedo-class platforms) and the Torsk commercial line (Torsk 6 and Torsk 12), all powered by proprietary navigation software that operates in GPS-, vision-, and communications-denied environments and enables cooperative multi-vehicle swarming. The company also sells the INStinct inertial navigation system as a standalone product to third-party maritime platforms.

Product overview

Vatn Systems builds affordable autonomous underwater vehicles that act in cooperative swarms, offering both defense and commercial product lines. The defense portfolio includes the Skelmir S6 (compact modular effector) and Skelmir S12 (AUV-torpedo family) which share common architecture for mass deployment, swarming operations, and modular payload configurations. The commercial portfolio includes the Torsk 6 and Torsk 12 AUVs designed for port security, search and recovery, law enforcement, and infrastructure inspection. Core enabling technology includes INStinct, a proprietary inertial navigation system providing GPS-denied navigation for both proprietary and third-party platforms. All products feature advanced autonomy software for cooperative swarming, mission planning via ATAK/CivTAK integration, and modular building-block structures enabling rapid manufacturing and tailored configurations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Skelmir: Defense product line of autonomous underwater vehicles including Skelmir S6 and Skelmir S12 platforms
• Torsk
• INStinct

Products and services

• Skelmir S6 Compact modular underwater effector (6-inch diameter, 50-60 lbs) designed for mass deployment in naval operations. Features 20 kts top speed, 20 nm range, 100m depth rating, and 10-20 lbs payload capacity. Supports deployment by hand, air, USV, submarine, UAV, and ship, with GPS-denied initialization capability. Targeted at U.S. Navy, Marine Corps, and allied forces at approximately $75,000 per unit.
• Skelmir S12 Modular AUV-torpedo family of systems (12.75-inch diameter) functioning as both AUV and lightweight torpedo. AUV configuration offers 30+ kts speed, 200+ nm range, 300+ m depth, 600-800 lbs weight, and 200+ lbs payload. Torpedo configuration features 9 ft length, 100+ nm range, active/passive seeker, and 1:1 replacement for MK54. Deployable from submarines, surface vessels, and aircraft.
• Torsk 6 Commercial portable AUV (6-inch diameter, 50 lbs) for civil and commercial markets. Features 6.5 kts top speed, 20 nm range at 5 knots, and 20 lbs payload capacity. Designed for port security, search and recovery, law enforcement, and commercial inspections, with collaborative autonomy and swarming capabilities. Made available in 2025.
• Torsk 12

Quantifiable outcome

• 10x manufacturing scale vs industry standard (2,000+ vs ~200 vehicles/year)
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

AI capability9 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and strategic.

• Crewless MarinecoreOthers · 9 January 2026Acquisition of Crewless Marine, a Portsmouth-based specialist in acoustic sensing and signal processing. Brings torpedo acoustics and hydrophone manufacturing capabilities in-house. Co-founders Steve Bordonaro and Philip Caspers join Vatn as Chief Engineer for Systems and Director of Acoustics respectively.
• Hanwha GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 13 December 2025Joint development partnership to build autonomous underwater drones for the U.S. Navy. Collaboration focuses on deploying low-cost, rapid-deployable undersea systems for surveillance and strike missions to counter China's maritime expansion in Indo-Pacific. Partnership builds on Hanwha's $60M investment in Vatn.
• ANELLO PhotonicscoreTechnology or Integration · 15 October 2025Technology partnership where ANELLO Photonics provides its Silicon Photonics Optical Gyroscope (SiPhOG) technology for Vatn's INStinct inertial navigation system. ANELLO's X3 IMU enables fiber optic gyroscope-level performance at significantly reduced cost for maritime navigation in GPS-denied environments.
• Quaze TechnologiesstrategicStrategic or Co-development Partner · 5 September 2025Strategic development partnership to enable wireless charging for autonomous underwater vehicles. Quaze's wireless charging receiver integrated into Vatn's Skelmir S-6 AUVs allows autonomous recharging at remote docking points without physical connectors, extending operational endurance.
• Palantir TechnologiescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 24 April 2025Strategic partnership to digitize Vatn's manufacturing process and provide AI-driven insights for accelerating AUV production. The partnership enables real-time tracking and manufacturing process optimization at Vatn's new Rhode Island facility.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Emerging players

• Bedrock Ocean: Bedrock Ocean is an early-stage startup building low-cost autonomous underwater vehicles for seafloor mapping and survey. Comparable in low-cost AUV philosophy and software-defined ocean autonomy, but focused on the commercial survey/market rather than defense; potential ecosystem peer or downstream partner for Vatn's commercial Torsk line.

Broad incumbents

• L3Harris Technologies: L3Harris is a large defense prime with significant undersea and maritime autonomy capabilities (e.g., Iver AUV line, ASW sonobuoys). Comparable in mission profile and customer base but competes as part of a much broader portfolio of defense electronics rather than a dedicated mass-market AUV vendor.
• Lockheed Martin: Lockheed Martin is a strategic investor in Vatn's Series A and a defense prime with submarine, missile and undersea systems programs. Overlaps in target customer and undersea warfare domain but operates as a broad incumbent across air, sea, land and space rather than as a specialized AUV vendor.
• Teledyne Technologies: Teledyne manufactures marine sensors, sonars and autonomous underwater platforms (e.g., Teledyne Gavia) and is a key supplier into the AUV market. Comparable in subsea domain and in supplying integrated navigation/sensor stacks to AUV OEMs, but is a broad instrumentation and subsea conglomerate rather than a focused AUV product company.
• Boeing Defense, Space & Security: Boeing is a defense prime with autonomous underwater and maritime programs (e.g., Echo Voyager XLUUV). Comparable customer base and mission profile but operates as a broad portfolio incumbent rather than a low-cost AUV specialist, and is a potential prime integrator rather than direct head-to-head bidder on small UUVs.

Direct peers

• Anduril Industries: Anduril is a venture-backed autonomous defense systems company building uncrewed systems (Dive-LD AUV, Ghost Shark submarine) for the US and allied militaries. Directly comparable to Vatn as a tech-forward, non-prime competitor pursuing maritime autonomy and cooperative autonomy software, with overlapping customer set across US DoD and Five Eyes allies.
• Saildrone: Saildrone builds autonomous uncrewed surface vehicles (USVs) for defense, hydrography and ocean science. Comparable as a venture-backed maritime autonomy company pursuing DoD and allied customers; differs on platform type (surface vs underwater) but overlaps on autonomy software, low-cost mass production philosophy, and channel.
• Kongsberg Maritime: Kongsberg produces the HUGIN AUV family, a benchmark military and commercial deep-water AUV. Comparable in mission profile and customer base (NATO navies, survey operators) and serves as a direct competitor in the medium/large UUV segment; contrasts with Vatn on price and production volume.
• Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII / Hydroid): HII's Hydroid subsidiary manufactures the REMUS family of AUVs, the dominant small/mid-size UUV supplier to the US Navy. Most direct head-to-head competitor in defense AUVs with a long procurement history; competes with Vatn in mine countermeasures, hydrography and expeditionary missions but at higher price points and lower production cadence.
• Saab (Saab Kockums / Saab Seaeye): Saab builds submarines, underwater vehicles and torpedo systems (e.g., AUV62, Sea Wasp) for naval defense customers globally. Comparable in mission set (torpedo / AUV) and target customer (NATO and Indo-Pacific navies) and is a likely prime competitor for Skelmir-class programs.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/vatnsystems
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/vatnsystems
• Instagraminstagram.com/vatnsystems

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds3 records

Investors22 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A1 record

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Vatn Systems