Liquid Robotics, Inc.

Liquid Robotics, Inc., a Boeing subsidiary based in Herndon, Virginia, manufactures and sells autonomous marine robotics—specifically Wave Glider unmanned surface vehicles (USVs) and related software, hardware, and field support services—to federal agencies as a prime contractor (79% of recent awards) and as a subcontractor on defense and research programs. The company competes in full-and-open procurement with no SBA set-aside posture.

Liquid Robotics' capability portfolio centers on the Wave Glider platform: autonomous ocean-surface vessels powered by wave and solar energy, equipped with sensors and acoustic transponders for long-endurance maritime missions. Representative prime work includes a $25 million definitive contract awarded by the Air Force Test Center on February 17, 2026, for fully configured SV6 Wave Gliders (completion February 16, 2028); a $2.653 million purchase order from Air Force Materiel Command Test Center (February 2023) for overwater impact location Wave Gliders supporting weapons test and evaluation at Eglin Air Force Base; a $1.166 million purchase order from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (August 2023) for ecosystem-based fisheries management operations in the Hawaiian Islands; and a $327,780 purchase order from the U.S. Geological Survey (February 2022) for a seafloor geodetic capability integrating Wave Gliders with GPS-A modules and acoustic transponders. Beyond hardware, Liquid Robotics delivers Wave Glider Management System software subscriptions, depot repair services, hardware component kits, piloting services, and field mission operations support across federal agencies.

Customer concentration splits between defense and civilian maritime science. The top five agencies account for 62% of award volume. By award count, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration leads with 19 awards ($2.2 million combined potential value), followed by the Department of the Navy Information Warfare Systems Command with 18 awards ($12.4 million), Naval Sea Systems Command with 10 awards ($5 million), the Office of Naval Research with 8 awards ($2.6 million), and Air Force Materiel Command with 6 awards ($2.7 million). By potential value, however, Air Force Materiel Command Test Center dominates with 3 awards carrying $27.9 million combined potential value—a stark concentration signal driven by the $25 million SV6 Wave Gliders contract. Information Warfare Systems Command, Naval Sea Systems Command, and Office of Naval Research provide deeper engagement but lower per-award values, reflecting sustained demand for maintenance, subscriptions, and smaller hardware procurements.

Liquid Robotics places work under the Information Analysis Center Multiple-Award Contract (7 task orders), Alliant II (3 task orders), and two Navy indefinite-delivery contracts (N6600121D0037 and N0002422D6404, with 3 and 2 task orders respectively). The recompete window shows significant exposure: two awards with combined potential value of $25 million reach ultimate completion within the next twenty-four months, anchored by the Air Force Test Center SV6 Wave Gliders contract expiring February 16, 2028.

In its subcontractor role—21% of recent awards—Liquid Robotics supplies Wave Glider USVs, management systems, hardware kits, masts, and field operations support to primes including Booz Allen Hamilton (Wave Glider USV commodities and services supporting C4ISR and Army Rapid Equipping Force programs), Science Applications International Corporation (research and testing support for Naval Information Warfare Center Atlantic on transformational technology analysis for defense systems), Alutiiq Information Management (RESTORE laboratory engineering services supporting NIWC Pacific advanced manufacturing, including Wave Glider system procurement, hardware and software design, cyber security assessments, and 3D scanning capability development), HII Mission Technologies Corp (at-sea test and evaluation support with field mission operations and onload/offload), Leidos (autonomous systems design and system engineering for NIWC Pacific), and The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (range systems program and joint fires network materials support). Recent sub awards span defense test and evaluation, naval warfare center modernization, and undersea sensing missions.

Liquid Robotics' award activity shows concentration in defense and research maritime missions. The top NAICS categories reflect the hardware and engineering character of the work: Search, Detection, Navigation, Guidance, Aeronautical, and Nautical System and Instrument Manufacturing (24 awards), Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (16 and 13 awards), and Engineering Services (14 awards). Top product service codes align: Miscellaneous Ship and Marine Equipment (10 awards), Meteorological Instruments and Apparatus (4 awards), and Small Craft (3 awards). Awards per year show growth from 3 in 2022 and 2023 to 14 in 2024, dropping to 11 in 2025 and 3 to date in 2026—a trajectory driven by the large Air Force Test Center contract and underlying maintenance and subscription renewals. Combined obligated dollars ($70.5 million) exceed combined potential value ($57.8 million), signaling favorable cost performance or option exercising across the portfolio.