Dr. Frederick Gaghan recently announced his appointment as General Manager for the Bayonet portfolio of defense-related robotic products at Greensea IQ, transitioning from government service to the commercial maritime defense sector (Gaghan, n.d.). Gaghan’s background includes 25 years of service in the United States Navy, retiring as a Captain in 2012, where he served as an Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) officer and in senior leadership roles at the Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization (JIEDDO) (Reyes, 2012). Greensea IQ’s own leadership profile describes Gaghan as “a former U.S. Navy EOD Captain, defense contractor, and government program manager” with over 25 years of experience in defense acquisition and maritime operations (Greensea IQ, n.d.-a).
Greensea IQ, headquartered in Richmond, Vermont, develops autonomous underwater ground vehicles (AUGVs) and intelligent navigation systems for defense and commercial maritime applications (Greensea IQ, n.d.-a). The company reported a 57% year-over-year revenue increase in 2024, driven by defense contracts with the U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps, and foreign militaries, as well as widespread adoption of its Bayonet AUGV and IQNS intelligent navigation systems (Greensea IQ, 2025a). In 2025, the company recorded an additional 26% revenue growth, doubling its total revenue over the two-year period (Greensea IQ, 2026).
The Bayonet AUGV portfolio consists of amphibious crawlers engineered to operate autonomously from the deep ocean through the surf zone to the beachhead (Greensea IQ, n.d.-b). The product line includes three models differentiated by size and payload capacity.
| Model | Dimensions | Weight (with Batteries) | Depth Rating | Deck Capacity | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bayonet 150 | 44 × 36 × 10 in | 300 lbs / 136 kg | 100 m | 50 lbs continuous | Up to 1 knot |
| Bayonet 250 | 48 × 48 × 12 in | 450 lbs / 204 kg | 100 m | 200 lbs continuous | Up to 1 knot |
| Bayonet 350 | 72 × 59 × 14 in | 600 lbs / 272 kg | 100 m | 50 lbs continuous; 275 lbs peak | Up to 1 knot |
Source: Greensea IQ (n.d.-c)
These vehicles are utilized for mine countermeasures (MCM) and unexploded ordnance (UXO) detection in environments where traditional methods are hazardous or operationally impractical (Greensea IQ, n.d.-b).
In August 2025, Greensea IQ received a $9 million firm-fixed-price task order from the United States Marine Corps for the procurement of Bayonet 250 systems under a larger Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract (Greensea IQ, 2025b). The award, made on a sole-source basis under 10 U.S. Code § 4021, included nine new robots, the refurbishment of six previously acquired units, and associated spares (Greensea IQ, 2025b). These vehicles support the Marine Corps’ Littoral Explosive Ordnance Neutralization (LEON) Family of Systems, which is designed to detect, locate, and neutralize underwater explosive threats in very shallow water, surf zones, and beach environments (Schmidt, 2023). An earlier $5.36 million contract, awarded through the Defense Logistics Agency in February 2025, had funded the initial delivery of customized Bayonet 250 vehicles for the same program (Greensea IQ, 2025c).
The LEON program is a component of the Marine Corps’ Force Design modernization strategy, which directs the service to address the threat of proliferated precision fires, mines, and other smart weapons in the global littorals (Schmidt, 2023). The LEON Integrated Product Team received the Department of the Navy’s 2023 Ron Kiss Maritime Technology Transition Award for successfully transitioning the technology into a program of record (Schmidt, 2023).
The deployment of autonomous systems in mine warfare aligns with broader U.S. Navy objectives. According to Navy officials at the WEST 2026 conference, improvements in acoustic and optical sensors, computing power, and artificial intelligence are enabling the transition from manned to unmanned mine countermeasure operations (Seffers, 2026). The Navy has procured 24 MCM mission packages for the Littoral Combat Ship and retired the MCM-1 Avenger class of ships in Bahrain following the arrival of the first three mission packages in Fifth Fleet (Seffers, 2026).
In March 2026, Greensea IQ demonstrated the Bayonet 350’s operational capabilities at the former Maine Bombing Area, a Formerly Used Defense Site located in Reid State Park. The vehicle autonomously surveyed approximately eight acres of surf zone, swash zone, and shoreline over five days, including through a New England blizzard, with no system downtime (Greensea IQ, 2026b). The demonstration was funded through the Department of Defense’s Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program (SERDP) and the Environmental Security Technology Certification Program (ESTCP) (Greensea IQ, 2026b).
Greensea IQ is also expanding its international distribution. In June 2025, the company entered a partnership with Sea and Land Technologies Pte Ltd (SALT), designating SALT as the exclusive sales representative for Bayonet AUGVs across key Southeast Asian markets, including Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Brunei, Cambodia, and Laos (Macey, 2025).
AI generated