Ocean Power Technologies CEO Philipp Stratmann joined Steve Darling from Proactive to discuss the company's participation in a week-long U.S. Army demonstration designed to evaluate advanced autonomous maritime technologies operating in some of the most challenging nearshore environments. The demonstration is being conducted by the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center's (ERDC) Coastal and Hydraulics Laboratory at its Field Research Facility in Duck, North Carolina. Following a competitive technical evaluation process, OPT was selected to showcase its WAM-V® autonomous maritime drone platform in live coastal conditions that include surf zones, breaking waves, strong currents and coastal inlets. The program is focused on identifying technologies capable of sustaining uncrewed surface vehicle operations in environments that are traditionally difficult and potentially hazardous for manned vessels. During the trials, ERDC is evaluating platforms and sensing technologies that can support critical missions such as bathymetric mapping and submerged-hazard detection. These capabilities have important applications for both military and civilian operations. Potential uses include U.S. Army Corps of Engineers civil infrastructure projects as well as military logistics-over-the-shore missions, where accurate information about water depths, underwater obstacles and shoreline conditions is essential for safe navigation and operational planning. OPT's WAM-V platform is specifically engineered for harsh marine environments. Its unique articulating suspension system helps improve stability while reducing structural stress when operating in waves and rough water conditions. The vessel's modular design also allows it to carry a variety of sensing and data-collection payloads, making it suitable for defense, scientific research, environmental monitoring and civil engineering applications. While participation in the demonstration does not constitute a procurement contract or guarantee future business, ERDC has indicated that technologies demonstrating strong performance could be considered for additional testing and evaluation programs, subject to future funding availability. #proactiveinvestors #oceanpowertechnologiesinc #nyseamerican #optt #PhillipStratmann #PowerBuoy #WAMV #MaritimeTech #MaritimeTechnology #DefenseTech #ArtificialIntelligence #AutonomousSystems #USCoastGuard #OceanInnovation #Defense #CleanTech