Ocean Power Technologies (OPT) announced on 6 October that it had completed a proof of concept requested by Greensea IQ: a modified WAM-V 16 uncrewed surface vessel transported a Bayonet 150 amphibious underwater ground vehicle offshore and released it remotely. OPT says the vessel deployed the robot's umbilical safely; after separation, Bayonet operated under Greensea IQ's control system and travelled from the release point to a beach. The announcement did not give the test date, location, distance, sea state or transit time.
What was demonstrated
OPT says it adapted the WAM-V 16 to carry the 300-pound Bayonet 150 and added a remotely triggered deployment arrangement. The reported sequence demonstrates a particular transport, release and vehicle-separation integration. It also shows why two different uncrewed platforms can be paired: a surface vessel can carry a specialist littoral robot to its starting point, while the second vehicle handles the surf-zone and beach approach. The company does not say that the Bayonet transit was autonomous throughout; its release says Greensea IQ controlled the robot after deployment.
Bayonet is designed for amphibious and surf-zone work relevant to mine countermeasures and other near-shore missions. This proof of concept did not report detecting or neutralising a mine, working with a military command system, or meeting a customer's operational requirements. It is also not evidence of a procurement award, deliveries or naval service acceptance. OPT's September account of WAM-V activity at REPMUS 2026 described different vessels and mission tasks; the 6 October report adds the specific Bayonet carriage-and-release integration.
The next evidence to watch is repeatable launch and recovery under stated sea conditions, measured performance during a defined mine-countermeasure task, interoperability with an operator's command system and any separate customer decision. Until those results are published, the supported milestone is offshore deployment of one partner vehicle in a proof-of-concept test.
Publication history
- — Added a distinct WAM-V/Bayonet release test with explicit proof-of-concept and acceptance limits.
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