Military drone boat maker moves at ‘speed of war’ with Georgia facility

“Most of those places, believe it or not, are very inconvenient to get to,” he said.

Hinckley is president of Blue Ops, a marine drone startup that Monday celebrates the first anniversary of its manufacturing facility in Valdosta near the Florida border.

In April, the company announced it would hire more than 200 over several years. The company’s South Georgia presence is quickly growing as demand increases for its autonomous boats amid global conflicts and skyrocketing military budgets for cutting-edge drones.

“We’re moving at the speed of war,” Hinckley said. “You say you need to do something in 90 days, and you’ve got 30. So we’re really happy about what we’ve accomplished in a year.”

Credit: Special

Credit: Special

Blue Ops was launched in August 2025 as the maritime defense division of Utah-based defense contractor Red Cat Holdings, a maker of drone and robotic systems. The subsidiary is based in Florida but selected a former Regal Coats facility in Valdosta to develop its $30 million manufacturing campus.

The facility at 601 Gil Harbin Industrial Blvd. can currently produce about 100 uncrewed surface vessels or USVs per year. The autonomous boats are shorter than 40 feet from bow to stern and are capable of patrols, surveillance, reconnaissance, protecting other vessels or as a launching pad for things like missiles or other drones.

Hinckley said the company expected to produce 250 USVs next year, steadily increasing it to a max of 600 annual units. He’s already thinking of expansion, pointing out there are multiple vacant boat-building facilities nearby.

Credit: Courtesy of Blue Ops

Credit: Courtesy of Blue Ops

The growth projection is informed by the rapid adoption of drone warfare across current global conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine. The Pentagon in April unveiled its latest budget, which includes a call to triple spending on drones and related technologies to more than $74 billion.

Beyond overseas conflicts, Blue Ops advertises its products for domestic use by the Coast Guard, Border Patrol and homeland security.

“Ports are very vulnerable to, sadly, people who have bad intentions,” Hinckley said. “Robots can cover the clock 24/7 for days on end when people are tired. … We don’t see any lack of demand in sight.”

Information on local incentives offered to the company have not been disclosed. The Valdosta-Lowndes County Development Authority did not respond to request for comment.

The Georgia Department of Economic Development said it did not provide discretionary incentives to Blue Ops but that the company will work with Georgia Quick Start, the state’s workforce training program. Blue Ops pledged to hire 100 workers in its first year with later plans to double the number of employees.

While Georgia is home to many defense-related companies, contractors and facilities, it’s a challenge to measure the size of the sector. Many of these companies, such as Lockheed Martin and Gulfstream, produce technologies for both civilian and military purposes.

Aerospace, which often overlaps with defense, is Georgia’s top export sector by a wide margin, more than tripling the runner-up industry of computer-related technologies in 2025.

Georgia-based facilities accumulated about $7.3 billion in Department of Defense contracts during 2025’s fiscal year, according to data from defense research group MilitarySpend. Blue Ops operates within Red Cat’s military contracts and in August announced a partnership with autonomous software provider Havoc. The value of that partnership was not disclosed.

While Georgia is a national leader for airborne military technology, Hinckley said its drone boats help fill a new niche within the state.

“We’re kind of unique in that,” he said. “So hopefully we can lead the way and be the first billion-dollar marine defense tech company in Georgia.”