Red Cat’s Blue Ops Expands Maritime Defense Operations Through Strategic Partnership with Florida Atlantic University
Key Highlights
- ➤Blue Ops (RCAT) gains access to FAU Harbor Branch’s secure 144-acre deep-water facility
- ➤Partnership enables real-world development, integration, testing and demonstration of uncrewed maritime systems
- ➤Blue Ops (RCAT) expands maritime operations to Fort Pierce, Florida
- ➤FAU Harbor Branch provides direct ocean access, waterfront infrastructure and marine engineering expertise
Expert Statements
Barry Hinckley, President of Blue Ops
“Blue Ops has an opportunity to lead a new era of U.S. maritime innovation by combining our shipbuilding heritage with the best technologies being developed today in autonomy, AI, communications and advanced manufacturing.”
Barry Hinckley, President of Blue Ops
“Harbor Branch gives our team an environment where we can put systems on the water, integrate new capabilities and test them under the real-world conditions they were built for.”
Barry Hinckley, President of Blue Ops
“Combined with our headquarters in West Palm Beach and growing manufacturing capacity in Valdosta, we are building the capabilities needed to move faster from innovation to operational systems in the hands of the warfighter.”
Jason Hallstrom, Ph.D., Interim Executive Director of FAU Harbor Branch
“Harbor Branch was built for the kind of real-world research, testing and collaboration this partnership will enable.”
Jason Hallstrom, Ph.D., Interim Executive Director of FAU Harbor Branch
“Working with Blue Ops gives our researchers, engineers and students the opportunity to contribute to the development of autonomous maritime technologies with important national defense applications, while giving Blue Ops access to the expertise, facilities and maritime environment needed to advance these systems.”
SALT LAKE CITY, Oct. 01, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Red Cat Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: RCAT) (“Red Cat” or the “Company”), a U.S. based provider of advanced all domain drone and robotic solutions for defense and national security, announced that its Blue Ops maritime division has established a strategic partnership with Florida Atlantic University (FAU) that will expand Blue Ops’ maritime defense operations to FAU’s Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute in Fort Pierce, Florida.
The partnership gives Blue Ops access to FAU Harbor Branch’s secure, 144-acre deep-water facility, including direct ocean access, waterfront infrastructure, specialized equipment and marine engineering and research expertise. The environment will allow Blue Ops to develop, integrate, test, and demonstrate uncrewed maritime systems under real-world conditions, accelerating the feedback between engineering, on-water evaluation and continued platform development.
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