Earlier this summer, we raised $50M from Google Ventures for our Series A. This is a unique moment (for 🇺🇸) for two reasons: 1️⃣ This is the fist time U.S. shipbuilding as an industry has a new company, focused on building a ship product, with the capital and team to do so. 2️⃣ Google Ventures’ entry reminds us that, in the defense tech renaissance, much of democracy’s best talent and capital has remained on the sidelines. No longer. We owe a ton of thanks to our existing investors - all of whom participated in the Series A - the rapidly growing Blue Water Team, and to our very understanding families. We will work relentlessly. Now check out this dope picture of our hardware on the salt water - more content coming soon.

Ok ok this is is cool to see. Getting Founders out to see the fleet is a great idea 🫡

Russian forces are urgently redirecting thousands of troops towards the Lyman frontline as Ukraine's 3rd corps continues large advances in the area. There is a certain panic among the Russian command to this area.

Amazing. Caused by the sun setting at the edge of the Nor’easter cloud canopy.

I somehow missed this special notice when it first published, but DARPA is looking for "SWaP limited tactical high-energy laser systems" that could potentially arm Collaborative Combat Aircraft "loyal wingman" drones in the future sam.gov/workspace/contract/o…

BREAKING: The U.S. military is now reportedly using high-energy laser weapons in the Strait of Hormuz to shoot down drones and incoming cruise missiles - with some systems operated using modified Xbox-style controllers. The New York Post reports the directed-energy systems are being deployed against Iranian threats at a fraction of the cost of conventional interceptor missiles. The controller technology itself is not new: U.S. laser systems have previously been demonstrated with gamepad-style controls designed to make them easier for soldiers to learn and operate. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth personally tested one of the systems during a June demonstration at White Sands Missile Range, where directed-energy weapons were used against aerial targets. The lasers are invisible to the naked eye and disable targets by concentrating energy on a small area until critical components overheat or fail. The confirmed deployment highlights the growing link between space and missile defense: U.S. satellites increasingly provide the warning and tracking data that helps terrestrial systems identify and engage incoming threats.

TIME's new cover: Admiral Samuel Paparo is preparing for a war he hopes never to fight. His mission: prevent conflict with China. “If I do my job right, history will never know my name,” he tells TIME in an exclusive interview time.com/article/2026/09/24/…

🤔 How do you build a Navy ship like a tech product? Wrong question. 🚀 🇺🇸 Last night, the Navy released a new MUSV solicitation and totally flipped the script. Here’s my take: ⚓ The Ship ✅ The Qualification 🏁 The New Competition ⚓ What ship do they want? - Threshold objectives are low. For example, a minimum speed of 12.5 knots is half the previous MUSV speed requirement of 25 knots - Objective requirements still give teams points for solving hard warfighting problems (like EMCON autonomous navigation)  - Navy is asking for an “F-150 of the open ocean” rather than a Jaguar or a very specific design  - Containerized payloads are still all the rage ✅ How to qualify?  - New competition largely does away with “surrogate” test vessels  - You need to build the ship you’re proposing, and demonstrate it shortly after proposing  - You could demonstrate on a slightly different variant, but not a totally different vessel  - The core tech on the test vessel = core tech on the production vessel  - The paper proposal = ship specs, a short paper, and a video - Show > Tell  - Some will gripe that these gates favor incumbents. This is not inaccurate, but too narrow. They favor teams that invest in the product. 🏁 How is this competition different? The above may sound very logical, but it’s a far cry from old NAVSEA acquisition models. It’s also very different than MASC or MUSV in many ways: - Companies are not being told to build to very specific specs. They have latitude to design and offer a differentiated product - There is no contract award guaranteed, only a spot in the marketplace. If you offer a great product the fleet wants, that pull will win the day - You are not winning this competition based on the minutiae of a 100 page paper proposal, a 20 person capture team, and 5 stage red team review process. - You win by demonstrating the product. ⚓ Previously, people like me were talking a big game about how to build warships like tech products. Now, the Navy is showing it’s ready to buy autonomous ships like commercial tech products. 🤝 🏗️ Buying shapes the market. The market shapes the tech. The builders deliver. *For context, I have gotten a few texts from reporters and industry friends asking for thoughts and it’s easier to put this out. I’m also going to industry day with PAE RAS this afternoon, and don’t like posting after an industry day, where senior leaders often speak off record / on Chatham House rules. Candid dialogue at industry day is healthy. The above is all sourced to publicly available documents on the internet, before industry day.

🇺🇸 The U.S. military is now zapping drones with freakin' LASERS in real combat! The Pentagon has confirmed that laser systems are being used in the Strait of Hormuz to take down Iranian drones and incoming cruise missiles at a fraction of the cost of traditional interceptors. At the same time, the technology is being tested against cartel drones along the U.S. southern border. The Army has awarded a $500 million contract for “war-ready” high-energy lasers. Operators are even using reconfigured Xbox controllers to aim them. After decades of development, directed-energy weapons are finally moving from the lab to the battlefield. Source: NY Post / Writer: Samuel

The Robot Ships of Route 90: Three Louisiana Shipyards are Vying for a Stake in the Navy’s Autonomous Future — USNI News news.usni.org/2026/09/23/thr…

The CIA warned European governments of a possible Russian drone attack on Spain, France, or Italy American intelligence gathered information that Russia is preparing such an attack on one of those Mediterranean countries and shared it with several European governments. Drones could be launched from the sea, hidden in containers on a ship. A source close to Lithuania’s Defense Ministry said the type is a Gerbera: up to 18 kg, with a declared range up to 600 km. One merchant vessel can carry several. Lithuania and other countries received the information shortly after CIA Director John Ratcliffe’s trip to Moscow on August 25. Ratcliffe arrived on a US military plane that stopped in Riga. 📰 El Mundo

The future of European airpower might be unmanned breakingdefense.com/2026/09/…

i do find it humorous that darpa went through the entire lift challenge rigmarole just to verify the ideal payload to weight form factor for rotorcraft is…… ….a helicopter

The Church of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist in Kramatorsk. Bombed by russians yesterday.

Not sure this math checks out. The same amount of capital deployed to the same companies at lower valuations… would not effect CPI or any measure of inflation

The fleet starts long before a ship touches water. It starts with welders, electricians, machinists, planners, and craftsmen who know how to turn drawings and steel into sea power.

More Louisiana Hardware-maxing on the timeline! Things are cooking rn opportunitylouisiana.gov/new…

According to the Polish Armed Forces, a Russian Armed Forces Mi-8 helicopter flew 300m into Polish airspace for 42 seconds and was tracked by Polish radar installations. The helicopter came from Russia’s Kaliningrad exclave and per the Polish Armed Forces release, the incident is another example of Russia testing Poland’s readiness.

Building the 21st Century’s Liberty Ships in Louisiana 🇺🇸 Oh by the way they’re autonomous 🤖

This week, we showed off something special when the @FutureNavyComm visited Conrad Shipyard. Liberty's 220 foot hull design unlocks speeds up to 27 knots and long-endurance, fully autonomous operations. But what makes her different goes beyond the hull. From modular engine rooms and electric propulsion to navigation autonomy and A-CHENG, our autonomous chief engineer, we’ve re-architected the ship from the inside out to operate without a crew onboard. That same diesel-electric architecture provides the power and flexibility to support demanding payloads, including directed energy systems, while a large working deck can accommodate up to six 40-foot containers. We’re proud to be building the first Liberty Class with Conrad Shipyard, and excited to see her taking shape. Meeting with the Commission, including representatives from NAVSEA, PMS 300, and SUPSHIP, catalyzed discussion not just about what we’re building, but about how autonomous vessels fit into the future fleet. Want to see what’s under the hood? Explore the technology powering Liberty and our approach to autonomous ships: blw.ai/technology

Major escalation near Braniewo Poland Russian military has deliberately crossed the border with military helicopters an escalation…