Hydronalix is looking to double its footprint in the Tucson area to meet growing demand for its unmanned surface vessels and aerial drones.
David Wichner After selling his aerial drone business to defense giant BAE Systems in 2009, Tony Mulligan turned his focus from air to water and set out to develop small, unmanned watercraft for emergency water rescue and research.
People are also reading… Overall, Mulligan said, the company has booked about $60 million in contracts since its inception and has delivered about 1,600 autonomous watercraft and aerial drones to emergency agencies, research and defense agencies and commercial operators worldwide. Last year, the Marine Corps tested Hyrdonalix drone boats for sea-floor mapping and mine hunting as part of the annual BALTOPS exercise.
While most of Hydronalix’s 42 current employees work in Sahuarita, the company has small customer-support offices in California, North Carolina and Florida. “I’m not upset about or anything — it’s Arizona," he said."Fortunately, the rest of the world likes our boats." The company also recently won a contract from the Department of Energy to use its sonar-equipped robotic boats to monitor the health of sand dollars around hydrokinetic energy systems, which generate power from ocean currents, Mulligan said.
And while some of the company's larger boats can carry small loads of vital supplies, Hydronalix has built and tested a heavy-duty unmanned boat for the Marines that can carry up to 500 pounds of equipment.
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