“We don’t just detect. We act. Presence, pressure, precision – that’s the tactical advantage of Zero.Nine.”
On September 5th, 2024, during the Maritime Security & Defence Conference (MS&D) at SMM Hamburg, BlackBoats took the stage in the Maritime Innovation Challenge – a high-stakes setting where select startups were invited to develop concrete, forward-looking solutions for the German Navy.
Diana S. Engelhard, founder of BlackBoats, presented the company’s latest innovation: zero.nine – an autonomous tactical swarm vessel designed for persistent maritime presence and fast, intelligent response in complex threat environments.
Tactical AI in Action: Swarm Capability Meets Closed-Kill-Loop
Zero.Nine is engineered for multi-vessel autonomy. It creates shared situational awareness across the swarm, detects patterns and threats in real time, and – through a closed-kill-loop powered by tactical AI – can respond with precision and speed. This enables operations with minimal human latency, offering clear advantages in saturated, high-pressure environments.
The system was built to match the maritime challenges discussed in the Innovation Challenge:
- Operating under multi-domain threat conditions
- Responding to short reaction windows
- Maintaining resilience under duress
- Acting with strategic clarity
zero.nine responds not with scale, but with intelligence.
Persistent Presence as Strategic Deterrence
BlackBoats challenges conventional doctrines: Rather than building larger, cost-intensive units, Zero.Nine is lean, agile, and autonomous – ideal for distributed operations, denied environments, and persistent patrols. It’s built to hold ground – or water – where traditional forces can’t.
Driving the Maritime Transition – Through Innovation
Diana S. Engelhard’s vision – combining tactical AI with real-world deployment capability – embodies what future defence must be: resilient, smart, sovereign. BlackBoats stands at the edge where disruptive maritime technology meets the operational realities of tomorrow’s naval forces.
Thank you to NEXMARIS, the German Navy, and the MS&D team for enabling this powerful platform for innovation. The future is swarm-based, autonomous, and tactically intelligent – and BlackBoats is proud to lead that change.
Diana S. Engelhard