Dear All,
Ocius Board: New Chair to spearhead next phase of growth
We are proud to announce Ocius has appointed experienced technology investor and company director David Pullini as Chair of Ocius Technology Ltd Board. This appointment follows a period of significant expansion for Ocius, including our recent $176 million landmark contract to deliver one of the world’s largest fleets of uncrewed surface vessels (USVs).
David brings more than 30 years’ experience across public and private companies, with expertise in investment, governance, finance and supporting the growth of founder-led technology businesses. David’s experience in helping innovative technology companies grow will be invaluable as demand for persistent maritime surveillance continues to increase. His extensive experience supporting rapid growth companies will provide excellent leadership as we scale, grow our international presence and developing capability ‘at the speed of relevance’.
David also has deep experience in M&A and looks forward to working with Guggenheim and Luminis to develop capital raise and liquidity strategies for Ocius and Ocius shareholders.
David succeeds Andrew Aitken, who retired in May 2026 as acknowledged in the ‘May Update’ and we thank him again for his extraordinary leadership and governance.
This Update, we also farewell Catherine Lloyd as a Director who retired as planned on 30 June 2026. Catherine joined us in 2023 at Randwick as CFO and grew with us before coming on the Board in 2024 as Chair of our Board Finance committee, overseeing our material step-change in performance, revenue, profitability and increase in staff underpinned by sound corporate governance and rigour in board processes including the mentoring of many of our staff. We will miss her and wish her all the best for the future.
Second Defence Trailblazer Research Collaboration with UNSW Canberra
We are proud to continue our AI research with UNSW Defence trailblazer this time using AI to optimise autonomous control. This is the second Defence Trailblazer supported research and development (R&D) collaboration between Ocius and academics from the Decision Support and Analytics Research Group (DSARG) at UNSW Canberra. This AI is not replacing humans on our watch floor but reducing the demand on their time for routine and mundane tasks to allow them to focus on high value work.
MEDIA
Christening of the First Hull in the Navy’s $176m contract for Bluebottle
Please see Hon Pat Conroy’s LinkedIn for great video of Friday 26 June.
Ocius on Sky News
Ocius Senior Executive, Rob Brezniak, recently joined Sky News Australia to discuss the increasing role of uncrewed surface vessels (USVs) in modern naval operations following the first reported US Navy combat strike involving a maritime drone.
As Rob explained:
“The trend is very much towards a teamed environment where uncrewed systems operate together with traditional platforms, offering extended reach, additional capability and taking people out of harm’s way.”
The interview highlighted how autonomous maritime systems are reshaping defence, surveillance and border protection capabilities around the world. From supporting naval operations to providing persistent maritime domain awareness, uncrewed systems are helping nations address growing security challenges with scalable and cost-effective solutions.
For Australia, the challenge is particularly significant. With one of the world’s largest Exclusive Economic Zones, maintaining awareness across vast maritime areas requires new approaches. Ocius’ autonomous vessels can remain at sea for months at a time, delivering real-time surveillance and intelligence while reducing the need for crewed operations.
Thank you to Sky News Australia for the opportunity to discuss the evolving role of autonomous maritime technology and the contribution Australian innovation is making to the future of maritime security.
My sincere acknowledgement and thanks to our entire Team Ocius who make Bluebottles possible including our staff, shareholders, Australian supply chain partners, Royal Australian Navy and Royal New Zealand Navy. I look to keeping you up to date and announcing the official opening of our new facility in Alexandria firming up to be in the coming months.
Robert Dane CEO
28 July 2026
PS. Please see some pics below for your enjoyment.
RD.
