Admiral Caudle Visits ThayerMahan to Review Autonomous Sensing Capabilities
News related to:ThayerMahan, Inc · 2 min read
GROTON, Conn., Sept. 29, 2026 /CourierPR/ -- Admiral Daryl Caudle, Chief of Naval Operations, recently visited ThayerMahan's headquarters in Groton, Connecticut, to observe the company's fielded autonomous sensing capabilities and discuss their role in enhancing maritime domain awareness and supporting distributed operations.
ThayerMahan, a maritime technology company specializing in unmanned acoustic intelligence and persistent undersea surveillance, hosted the visit. The company showcased its Outpost® and SeaPicket® systems, which are currently supporting government customers. These systems provide ASW-capable passive acoustic surveillance and long-endurance moored sensing, respectively.
During the visit, Admiral Caudle received briefings and demonstrations on persistent maritime sensing, autonomous operations, acoustic processing, AI-enabled analyst decision support, and the use of cost-effective distributed systems to increase awareness across contested and strategically important maritime regions. He also reviewed ThayerMahan's layered port security concepts, which combine persistent sensing, command-and-control integration, and counter-UUV capabilities to protect critical maritime infrastructure and strategic assets.
Admiral Caudle emphasized the Navy's requirement for capabilities that can be fielded, sustained, and employed in real-world operations. He highlighted how unmanned systems, autonomous sensing, and operationally relevant AI capabilities can help expand maritime awareness, increase operational capacity, and provide commanders with additional options across the battlespace.
ThayerMahan's Chairman and CEO, Mike Connor, noted that the maritime challenges facing the Navy will not be solved by technology designed to be demonstration darlings.
The company's Chief Operating Officer, John Russ, added that the demand signal is clear. ThayerMahan has made significant progress in expanding its production capacity, including domestic manufacturing of advanced acoustic sensing technologies and increasing deployment activity with government customers.
The visit also highlighted the importance of rapidly transitioning proven technology into fielded capability. Discussions centered on fleet adoption, operational sustainment, force resilience, AI-enabled decision support, and the industrial capacity required to equip operational commanders at relevant speed and scale. ThayerMahan's recent investments are aimed at strengthening the nation's maritime industrial base.
The company's capabilities, including Outpost®, SeaPicket®, ShorePicket™, SeaGuard™, and TransparenSea®, are designed to support mission-critical defense, security, and infrastructure protection requirements. These systems are platform-agnostic and can be deployed across a range of surface and subsurface platforms.
ThayerMahan's layered port security concepts integrate persistent sensing, command-and-control integration, and counter-UUV capabilities to protect critical maritime infrastructure and strategic assets. The company's focus remains on delivering systems that provide actionable intelligence while maintaining the affordability and scale required by today's maritime environment.