Swarmer, Tekmara and Florida International University (FIU) have announced a collaboration to evaluate the use of autonomous drone swarms for environmental monitoring projects and coastal restoration. The partnership aims to assess how autonomous drone systems can support large-scale monitoring, environmental sensing and restoration of mangrove and oyster reef habitats. By leveraging these technologies, the initiative seeks to improve the efficiency, consistency and scalability of environmental data collection across coastal and marine environments.

The research project will utilize Aquarius Reef Base, the world's only continuously operating underwater research habitat, which is operated by FIU. This facility provides a unique real-world environment for testing autonomous systems, remote operations and persistent environmental monitoring technologies. The collaboration will specifically explore how autonomous systems operating across air, surface and underwater domains can be coordinated to support restoration missions in complex marine environments where traditional methods are often costly and labor-intensive.

Erik Prince, Swarmer board chairman, highlighted the broader market potential of the technology. "Reconstruction is a multibillion-dollar market," said Prince. "Governments and non-government organizations are generously funding new programs that can restore mangroves, oyster reefs, forests and living shorelines as part of their recovery and reconstruction efforts. The same tools we use to deliver kinetic energy to the enemy may also be useful to repair both man-made and natural disasters."

The environmental context for the project is significant, as 85% of the world's oyster reefs have been lost due to overharvesting, destructive fishing, pollution and coastal development. Oyster reefs and mangrove forests act as living barriers that reduce wave energy, buffer storm surge and prevent shoreline erosion. Replenishing these reefs is expected to help protect millions of lives and save billions of dollars in property damage from coastal disasters annually.

Todd Kleperis, co-founder of Tekmara, emphasized the operational goals of the infrastructure being developed. "We are focused on building an operational infrastructure that enables persistent environmental awareness and scalable coastal resilience," said Kleperis. "This initiative is an opportunity to explore how autonomous systems can enhance monitoring, restoration and long-term environmental operations in challenging marine environments."

Alex Fink, President and U.S. CEO of Swarmer, described the dual-purpose nature of the company's autonomy platform. "Swarmer was built from the beginning as a dual-purpose autonomy platform," said Fink. "The same software that enables operators to coordinate large numbers of drones in unforgiving combat environments can also support important commercial and public-sector missions like environmental restoration, wildfire detection, disaster relief, search and rescue, and law enforcement operations."

Key Project Participants

Swarmer is set to recognize an additional $1.02 million in revenue following an update to its SkyKnight software contract. The revised agreement shifts the purchase of $1.41 million in licenses to Czech-based Progress TRW S.R.O. and increases Meta Bureau’s autonomy license purchase from $1.38 million to $2.40 million. This adjustment raises the total contract value to $3.87 million.

The updated deal structure allocates $2.47 million to Meta Bureau and $1.41 million to Progress TRW. Collectively, the agreement holds a potential value of $14.20 million if all options are exercised by both parties. This represents a potential increase of $1.02 million compared to the original contract award announced last month.

Contract Breakdown

The potential total value, including exercised options, stands at $14.20 million.