WASHINGTON — American maritime drone manufacturer Seasats today announced it would expand its presence into Australia and New Zealand through a reselling agreement with Australian professional services firm Elysium EPL.
“This collaboration combines our operational experience with Elysium EPL’s regional expertise, enabling faster delivery and support for customers seeking persistent, autonomous maritime capabilities,” Seasats CEO Mike Flanigan said in a joint statement by the companies.
According to the agreement, Elysium EPL will provide sales, integration and “front-line support” for the American company’s autonomous surface vessels, dubbed Quickfish and Lightfish. Elysium, based in Canberra and Sydney, is a consulting firm focused on “military, law, national security and intelligence, industry and broader government,” according to the company’s website. Though announced today, the agreement was signed during the Indo-Pacific 2025 International Maritime Exposition in Sydney earlier this month.
“Formalizing this partnership is an exciting step forward,” Michael Mitchell, director at Elysium EPL, said in the statement. “Seasats has been at the forefront of autonomous surface technology, and together we can expand access to these capabilities across Australia and New Zealand.”
The companies also noted that Elysium recently cooperated with Seasats to get the Lightfish certified by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority. The AMSA is the country’s maritime regulatory authority responsible for overseeing commercial vessels and adherence to maritime treaties, among other things.
“The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) has taken a leading, risk-based approach to regulating autonomous vessels, balancing innovation and safety, to enable commercial USV operations at scale,” according to the companies’ statement.
The announcement comes as companies from the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom continue to position themselves to be part of the trilateral security pact known as AUKUS, which heavily focuses on the development of advanced technologies such as unmanned systems.
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Seasats has also been making inroads with the US Navy. As Breaking Defense previously reported, the company’s 12-foot-long fiberglass drone, designed for data collection purposes, previous participated in Navy exercises such as Baltic Operations 2025. Those efforts come as many of the United States’ partners and allies all invest more heavily into unmanned systems.