DEPLOYDatabase

Robot model

Triton

Ocean Aero (founded 2012 in Gulfport, Mississippi by US Navy veterans, led by CEO Kevin Decker) makes the Triton, the only surface-and-subsea hybrid vehicle in…

Manufacturer
Ocean Aero
Form factor
maritime_surface
Maturity
pilot
Lifecycle
active
Deployments
1

Overview

Ocean Aero (founded 2012 in Gulfport, Mississippi by US Navy veterans, led by CEO Kevin Decker) makes the Triton, the only surface-and-subsea hybrid vehicle in the cohort and its genuine differentiator: a dual-mode autonomous underwater and surface vehicle that sails on wind and solar power for more than 30 days at up to about five knots on the surface and submerges for more than ten days to 100 meters at about two knots, at roughly 15 feet and 1,500 pounds with a minimal radar cross-section and payloads including cameras, side-scan sonar, and mine-neutralization gear in development. It is primarily a vessel maker that also runs some operations with its own personnel, on about $60.2 million raised including from James Fisher and Sons. The registry records it at pilot maturity with an explicit scale gap: it is a real fielded vehicle with named deployments, including continuous autonomous subsea surveillance at the Port of Gulfport since May 2025, a US Navy Task Force 59 evaluation since 2023, and Black Sea operations, but it has no sustained-scale evidence, with no cumulative nautical-mile or sea-day figures, and its stated manufacturing capacity of 360 to over 1,000 Tritons per year is capacity rather than units built, so it is held at pilot and flagged so it is not presented at parity with Saildrone. Its autonomy is genuine, since multi-day unattended submerged and surface transits are not remote-pilotable, but its scale is the open question, and any cumulative total, the world-first subsea-surveillance superlative, the production-capacity figures as actual output, NOAA contract specifics, current ownership, and operational mine neutralization are not verified.

Verified vs. claimed

Maturity stage
pilot(Small-scale deployment in controlled or trial conditions.)
Verified deployments
1 deployment on file
Sources on file
3 sources, view all

Key facts

Surface runtime

30+ days

Surface speed

up to ~5 knots

Submerged runtime

10+ days

Submerged depth

100 meters (328 ft)

Submerged speed

~2 knots

Length

~15 ft

Weight

~1,500 lb

Production capacity

360 to over 1,000 Tritons per year

Funding raised

~$60.2 million

Specs

Notes

Verified: Ocean Aero (founded 2012, Gulfport MS; CEO Kevin Decker) makes the Triton, the ONLY surface-AND-subsea hybrid in the cohort (its genuine differentiator). Verified discrete deployments: continuous autonomous subsea surveillance at the Port of Gulfport since May 2025; US Navy / Task Force 59 evaluation since 2023 (Persian Gulf); Black Sea ops. Vessel SALE / manufacturer (also runs some ops with own personnel). ~$60.2M raised., Maturity = PILOT (scale gap): Real fielded vehicle with named Navy + port deployments, but NO sustained-scale evidence: no cumulative nm/sea-days figures exist. Manufacturing capacity '360 Tritons/yr, expandable to 1,000+' is stated CAPACITY, not units built. The gating signal (sustained operational scale) is the one it most clearly fails to substantiate -> pilot, flagged so it isn't presented at parity with Saildrone., AI-substance: genuine autonomy: Multi-day unattended submerged + surface transits are not remote-pilotable - genuine autonomy. Substance is real; SCALE is the open question., Claimed but NOT verified: Any cumulative nm/sea-day total; the 'world-first continuous subsea surveillance' superlative; 360-1,000 Tritons/yr as actual output; NOAA contract specifics; current ownership (Teledyne held ~37% c.2015 - residual stake unverified); mine-neutralization as operational vs developmental.

Specs

Triton: dual-mode Autonomous Underwater and Surface Vehicle (AUSV). Wind+solar surface sailing 30+ days at up to ~5 kn; submerges 10+ days to 100m (328 ft) at ~2 kn. ~15 ft / ~1,500 lb. Minimal radar cross-section. Payloads: HD/thermal cameras, side-scan sonar, mine-neutralization gear (in development). Founded 2012 (US Navy veterans); Gulfport MS; CEO Kevin Decker; ~$60.2M raised (incl. James Fisher & Sons).

Form Factor

maritime (autonomous SURFACE-and-SUBSEA hybrid vehicle / AUSV; the only dual-mode entity in the cohort)

Data & sources

Press releases

1

Web sources

2

3 sources backing this record.View all →

Pricing

No verified price is on record for Triton. Physical-AI systems are often sold through enterprise contracts or operated as a service rather than at a public list price.

Deployments (1)

  • Triton at Oregonoperational

    The NOAA Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS) Ocean Technology Transition (OTT) program awarded $1 million over three years (2020) to a partnership including the University of Washington, Oregon State University,…

Recent activity

Every change to this record is dated, sourced, and independently verified where marked.

Full change history →

Manufacturer-attributed media (1)

Manufacturer-supplied media at the model level. Not tied to an independently verified named-site deployment. Verification posture is product-showcase from the maker, distinct from the deployment-verified evidence in the section above.

PRIMARY SOURCE
Courtesy of Ocean Aero

Ocean Aero's product film for its Triton, a wind- and solar-powered vehicle that both sails on the surface and submerges. Ocean Aero describes it as the only autonomous vessel that both sails and dives; the framing is the maker's.

Safety record

No incidents on record for Triton.

Only active incidents are counted. Retracted incidents are excluded from this summary but remain reachable at their canonical URLs.

Sources (3)

  1. https://breakingdefense.com/2026/03/ocean-aero-triton-autonomous-underwater-surface-vehicle/
  2. https://www.usm.edu/news/2025/ocean-aero-port-gulfport-subsea-surveillance.php
  3. https://www.oceanaero.com/triton

Common questions

What is Triton?
Ocean Aero (founded 2012 in Gulfport, Mississippi by US Navy veterans, led by CEO Kevin Decker) makes the Triton, the only surface-and-subsea hybrid vehicle in the cohort and its genuine differentiator: a dual-mode autonomous underwater and surface vehicle that sails on wind and solar power for more than 30 days at up to about five knots on the surface and submerges for more than ten days to 100 meters at about two knots, at roughly 15 feet and 1,500 pounds with a minimal radar cross-section and payloads including cameras, side-scan sonar, and mine-neutralization gear in development. It is primarily a vessel maker that also runs some operations with its own personnel, on about $60.2 million raised including from James Fisher and Sons. The registry records it at pilot maturity with an explicit scale gap: it is a real fielded vehicle with named deployments, including continuous autonomous subsea surveillance at the Port of Gulfport since May 2025, a US Navy Task Force 59 evaluation since 2023, and Black Sea operations, but it has no sustained-scale evidence, with no cumulative nautical-mile or sea-day figures, and its stated manufacturing capacity of 360 to over 1,000 Tritons per year is capacity rather than units built, so it is held at pilot and flagged so it is not presented at parity with Saildrone. Its autonomy is genuine, since multi-day unattended submerged and surface transits are not remote-pilotable, but its scale is the open question, and any cumulative total, the world-first subsea-surveillance superlative, the production-capacity figures as actual output, NOAA contract specifics, current ownership, and operational mine neutralization are not verified.
How much does Triton cost?
Triton's price is not publicly disclosed. DEPLOY has no verified price on record for Triton from Ocean Aero. Physical-AI systems like this are often sold through enterprise contracts or operated as a service rather than at a public list price; check the manufacturer for the latest.
Is Triton actually deployed in the real world?
Yes. Triton is independently verified in real-world operation on the DEPLOY registry, confirmed at named deployment sites with primary sources: not a concept, render, or demo-only.
Who makes Triton?
Triton is made by Ocean Aero, based in San Diego, California, USA, founded in 2012.
Where is Triton deployed?
1 verified deployment of Triton is on the DEPLOY registry, including at Oregon.
Methodology: Verified · 3 sources (1 primary) · last reviewed 2026-07-12

Verification posture

Verified

High confidence

Review state

Stable

Last reviewed 2026-07-12

Maturity + lifecycle

Maturity stage: pilot

Lifecycle: active

Architectural position

Cohort: maritime_surface

Sources by quality tier

2
unclassified
Unclassified source
1
primary-company-ir
Company IR disclosure

The framework is documented at /methodology. Corrections at /corrections. Reviewer: DEPLOY editorial team.

Methodology surface for Triton.

Recent coverage

Triton in third-party press