Ocean Explorer (OEX) Large Underwater Vehicle Demonstrator

ONR will hold Industry Days on 30 June – 1 July 2025

The Office of Naval Research (ONR) seeks potential performers who are interested in pursuing the rapid design, build, and testing of OEX, an ultra-large autonomous undersea vehicle capable of conducting extended ocean scale missions while carrying a large modular payload. Innovation is sought both in terms of ultra-large undersea vehicle technology and in rapid prototype design and fabrication. The BAA Call initially seeks white papers followed by a full costed proposal covering an OEX “Preliminary Design” phase (Phase 1A) with a “Detailed Design” option (Phase 1B). The purpose of the OEX Preliminary Design is to establish the technical feasibility of the vehicle (with a payload module) and to lay out the operational and maintenance infrastructure required to support a hypothetical OEX “squadron”.