Adding to its technology base in the area of unmanned underwater systems, L3 Technologies [LLL] last Friday acquired Open Water Power, Inc., a small developer of power generation technologies.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Open Water Power has 15 employees, is based in Massachusetts, and was spun out of Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2013.

L3's latest acquisition, Open Water Power, has developed a novel Aluminum-water platform technology for undersea power generation. Photo: L3 Open Water Power
L3’s latest acquisition, Open Water Power, has developed a novel Aluminum-water platform technology for undersea power generation. Photo: L3 Open Water Power

Open Water Power is developing save and high-energy-density undersea power generation technologies for use by unmanned undersea vehicles (UUVs) and other maritime platforms. L3 said on Monday that Open Water Power’s technology provides increased safety and endurance improvements for UUVs over current technologies.

Open Water Power, which has been renamed L3 Open Water Power, says on its website that current UUV use is limited by their dependency on manned surface vessels and submarines for the deployment, operations, and retrieval. Increasing the range of UUVs will allow more operations to be launched from shore without the need for a support vessel and crew, the company says.

Open Water Power has a prime contract with the Defense Department to develop power systems for man-portable UUVs and has a separate contract with the Naval Sea Systems Command to develop an ocean floor power system.

The acquisition builds on another recent deal by L3, which acquired OceanServer Technology, a developer and manufacturer of autonomous UUVs for military, commercial and international customers.

The OceanServer acquisition positioned L3 to be a prime contractor in the “emerging UUV market,” Michael Strianese, L3’s chairman and CEO, said in late April during the company’s fourth quarter earnings call. OceanServer also has 15 employees.

“The acquisition of Open Water Power aligns with L3’s disciplined growth strategy by adding an important new technology to our portfolio in the growing UUV market,” Strianese said in a statement. “When combined with our recent acquisition of L3 OceanServer, Open Water Power’s innovative power system capability will enable us to meet the increasing demand for smaller, more cost-efficient UUVs with the ability to conduct longer missions at greater depths. Given the U.S. Navy’s focus on UUV technology, we believe we are well positioned in this high priority, high potential growth areas.”

Christopher Kubasik, L3’s president and chief operating officer, said on the earnings call that the OceanServer deal begins to “increase our anti-submarine warfare and mine countermeasures capabilities, and creates pull-through opportunities for existing L3 sensors, sonar and ISR products.”

L3 Open Water Power is being integrated into L3’s Sensor Systems business segment.