L-3 boosts UUV technologies with OceanServer acquisition

Executives of L-3 Technologies in New York are boosting their capabilities in naval unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs) with their acquisition of OceanServer Technology Inc. in Fall River, Mass. Terms of the deal were not released. OceanServer develops and manufactures autonomous, lightweight UUVs for military and commercial applications that involve intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR); anti-submarine warfare (ASW); and mine countermeasures. The newly formed L-3 OceanServer and will be integrated into the L-3 Sensor Systems segment. The acquisition, which closed on 17 March 2017, is one of the first L-3 moves into the unmanned vehicles market. L-3 OceanServer perhaps is best-known for its Iver commercially developed low-cost UUV for coastal applications, such as sensor development, general survey work, subsurface security, research, and environmental monitoring. One person can carry the UUV, which features point-and-click mission planning. "OceanServer Technology positions L-3 to support the U.S. Navy's vision for the tactical employment of UUVs," says L-3 CEO Michael Strianese. "OceanServer Technology provides L-3 with a new growth platform that is aligned with the U.S. Navy's priorities."