Lockheed Martin Ventures has announced that it is making a strategic investment in Ocean Aero, a company that has developed an unmanned maritime vehicle called the Submaran.

Built for ocean observation and data collection, the Submaran is a new class of unmanned underwater and surface vessel. The vehicle, which is powered by wind and solar energy, can travel for months, even in extreme conditions.

Easily deployable and recoverable, the vehicle can avoid surface traffic or conduct C4ISR operations thanks to its ability to dive to depths of 660 feet.

“Ocean Aero represents the next generation of environmentally powered, autonomous ocean systems,” says Chris Moran, executive director and general manager of Lockheed Martin Ventures.

“Our investment will allow us to better respond to customers' maritime needs with technology solutions for a diverse set of missions.”

This isn’t the first time that Lockheed Martin and Ocean Aero have worked together. During the 2016 Annual Naval Technology Exercise at the Naval Undersea Warfare Center in Newport, Rhode Island, the two companies collaborated on a successful, multi-domain unmanned systems technology demonstration.

As a result of this investment, the two entities will “continue to demonstrate their expertise in configuring teams of autonomous systems for complex missions.”

“We're excited about the opportunity to grow our business and leverage the strengths of Lockheed Martin to accelerate innovation in the autonomous domain,” says Eric Patten, CEO and president of Ocean Aero.

The investment in Ocean Aero is Lockheed Martin Ventures' third investment this year. For Ocean Aero, Lockheed Martin Ventures is the company’s second significant investor.