Terry Crimmins, president of BAE Systems electronic systems, welcomed the acquisition, saying, "Adding Riptide's technological capabilities will position us to provide customers unmatched flexibility by offering a family of UUVs and integrated payload solutions capable of supporting a variety of critical missions."

"Coupling our extensive expertise in sonar, signal processing, sensor fusion, undersea communications, electronic warfare and autonomous systems with Riptide’s unique UUV platforms will enable us to affordably address rapidly expanding maritime mission requirements in the global defence, commercial and research markets."

Riptide employees will join the BAE Systems electronic systems sector, many as part of the FAST Labs organisation, where its scientists and engineers innovate capabilities to address some of the toughest challenges in the defence, aerospace and security domains.

The FAST Labs team said it looks forward to maturing Riptide’s platform technology, demonstrating new solutions and scaling manufacturing production. This is consistent with the company's strategy to acquire and incubate small business innovations that can yield disruptive technology breakthroughs for BAE Systems programs of record.

"Everyone at Riptide is excited to be joining BAE Systems, given our shared focus and strategic vision for the undersea market," said Jeff Smith, Riptide’s founder and president.

It is expected that the merger will maintain the Riptide facilities in Massachusetts and will further expand BAE Systems' footprint in the New England area.

Stephen Kuper

Steve has an extensive career across government, defence industry and advocacy, having previously worked for cabinet ministers at both Federal and State levels.