October was a landmark month for the company, with the official opening of our new production and operations facility in Sydney, the opening of our New Zealand maintenance facility in Auckland, announcement that the Australian Government will provide Bluebottles to Fiji, confirmation that Ocius will perform a verification programme for the Japan Maritime Self-Defence Force in 2027 and the international debut of the Bluebottle Hybrid USV in San Diego.
1 Sydney Facility Officially Opened
On 16 October 2026, the Minister for Defence Industry, the Hon. Pat Conroy MP, officially opened Ocius’ advanced engineering, production and maintenance hub for Bluebottle Uncrewed Surface Vessels (USVs) in Alexandria, along with the new Ocius Global Operations Centre. The ceremony was also attended by the Minister for Industry and Innovation, Senator the Hon Tim Ayres, as well as senior representatives from the Royal Australian Navy, international navies, customers, partners and industry stakeholders.
The site provides the capacity to meet growing demand for Bluebottles in Australia and overseas. Production is now scaling to deliver 40 additional Australian-designed and built Bluebottles under the Australian Government’s $176 million investment announced in March 2026, as well as forecast additional international orders. The Bluebottle Hybrid is also produced at the same facility.
Speaking at the opening, Minister Conroy said:
“Ocius is a great Australian success story, developing world-leading maritime technology right here in Sydney. Ocius is a prime example of Australian innovation and ingenuity that has created over 70 jobs over the last 12 months, while supporting other small businesses and jobs through its supply chain. I’ve said before that I want potential adversaries to understand that when they see an Ocius Bluebottle USV, it is a signal to get out of our ocean.” Pat Conroy MP, Minister for Defence Industry
Senator Ayres noted that facilities like ours show the strength of Australian advanced manufacturing in turning home-grown research and innovation into high-value jobs, sovereign capability and globally competitive products.
2 Ocius New Zealand Base Opens in Auckland
Earlier in the same week, Ocius opened its first overseas advanced maritime maintenance facility through our wholly owned subsidiary, Ocius New Zealand (Ocius NZ). The facility in Auckland provides onshore maintenance and technical support for the Royal New Zealand Navy’s (RNZN) Bluebottle fleet, helping to maximise vessel availability for persistent surveillance across New Zealand’s vast maritime domain.
The facility also gives Ocius a strategically located base in the Pacific as regional demand for autonomous maritime surveillance continues to grow. Ocius NZ is expanding its Auckland-based team and plans to grow the facility as demand increases.
At the ceremony, the RNZN Chief of Navy, Rear Admiral Garin Golding said: “Our Bluebottles, Tahi and Rua, are enabling us to maintain a persistent watch over New Zealand’s maritime environment. The establishment of Ocius NZ’s facility means our Bluebottles can be maintained locally, maximising their time at sea and strengthening New Zealand’s national security.”
3 Bluebottles Confirmed for Fiji
Following the intention flagged by the Australian Government at the Pacific Islands Forum earlier in 2026, the Australian Government has now confirmed it will provide Ocius Bluebottles to Fiji under the Waqa Moana partnership, a Pacific-led initiative to counter organised crime and drug trafficking, supported by Australia’s $600 million funding pledge. The vessels will be sovereign Fijian assets. For operational security reasons, the number of vessels has not been disclosed. The announcement coincided with the launch of Fiji’s first National Maritime Security Strategy 2026–2035.
Australia’s Defence Minister, the Hon Richard Marles MP, said: “This Bluebottle partnership demonstrates how Australian innovation can deliver real-world outcomes for our neighbours and the wider region.”
4 Ocius to Support Bluebottle Performance Verification for the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force
Ocius has signed a contract with Japanese company Seisgadget to support the performance verification of its Bluebottle uncrewed surface vessels (USVs), for the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF). This programme will verify Bluebottles’ capacity to conduct persistent maritime and undersea surveillance across its extensive maritime domain, by conducting in-water testing and acceptance activities in Australia.
Equipped with advanced sensors, the Bluebottles will provide a proven long-endurance and cost-effective capability to enhance maritime domain awareness to detect and monitor activity below and above the ocean surface.
5 Bluebottle Hybrid Debuts at Maritime Big Play Pacific
Two diesel-hybrid variants of the Bluebottle participated in the US Navy-led Maritime Big Play Pacific exercise throughout October. This is the first time the Bluebottle Hybrids have taken part in a navy exercise anywhere in the world. Maritime Big Play is an AUKUS Pillar II exercise and experimentation series bringing together Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States to accelerate the operational use of autonomous and uncrewed systems in the maritime domain.
For the exercise, the vessels carried ThayerMahan Outpost acoustic intelligence payloads with TransparenSea processing software to detect and track undersea threats. In San Diego, the diesel hybrid power systems supplement the platform’s renewable energy sources enabling in this case rapid redeployment over significant distances overnight from one area of operations to another and arriving fully charged. For the Northern Hemisphere operations, the hybrids can do persistent operations in low-light environments such as high latitudes in winter and support higher-power payloads, while still using the same logistics e.g. hull, trailer and launch method as the standard Bluebottle.
6 OCIUS sponsors an 18-foot Skiff
Sydney’s 18ft Skiff League is one of the world’s most prestigious and spectacular forms of one-design class racing, with a proud Australian heritage stretching back more than a century. Renowned for extreme speed, athleticism and technical innovation, the 18-footers bring together elite sailors competing in closely matched boats, placing the emphasis on crew skill, teamwork and tactical excellence. With its iconic Sydney Harbour racing and international following, the class has earned a unique place in sailing history as one of the sport’s most demanding and celebrated competitions.
Our heritage
Ocius has deep roots in the Sydney sailing community. Many of our earliest employees came from sailing, our boatbuilder Brett Van Munster is the sole builder of the one-design 18-footer hulls, and our naval architect Steve Quigley is a two-time champion. Importantly, the Ocius 18-footer is not simply sponsored by us, it is crewed by Ocius people, including Dante Olivieri, James Hodgson and Nick Rozenauers.
The sponsorship allows Ocius to give something back to a community that has contributed to our success, while aligning the Ocius brand with innovation, advanced marine technology and engineering excellence.
On 1 November, Race 4 of the SIXT Spring Championship was sailed in conjunction with the club championship, resulting in a podium finish for Ocius for the first time this season. The new Ocius team have really made a colourful impact on Sydney Harbour.
On 6 December, Ocius official Sponsor’s Day, a christening event for Blanche will be held in the park prior to that days’ race.
See: Ocius Team kick off the season – 18 Footers Instagram page
You can watch races live from 2:15pm every Sunday afternoon on YouTube 18 Footers LIVE
7 In the Media
October’s milestones attracted wide national and international coverage, including:
- Australian-made Bluebottle drones to patrol Fiji’s waters for drug traffickers – ABC
- EXCLUSIVE: Ocius confirms Bluebottle USV performance verification for Japan Maritime Self-Defence Force – Defence Connect
- Ocius opens in New Zealand – Australian Defence Magazine
- Ocius has officially opened its new advanced engineering, production and maintenance facility
- Ocius Bluebottle diesel-hybrid participates in US exercise – Australian Defence Magazine
- Bluebottle drones welcomed as a big boost for Fiji maritime security – ABC Pacific Beat
- Tune in: Robert Dane on the Austrade podcast, “Turning setbacks into new market opportunities with Ocius“.
We thank our shareholders for their continued support as Ocius scales from an innovative technology company into a globally recognised provider of autonomous maritime capability.
Details of the upcoming AGM will be shared with shareholders shortly.
Robert Dane, CEO
October 2026
