If the conflicts in Ukraine and then Iran have shown us anything, it’s that drone combat is the combat of the future, and a huge portion of defense budgets worldwide will be devoted to it. Along those lines, Blue Ops Inc., a Florida-based manufacturer of unmanned boats, is building out a new manufacturing plant in Valdosta that will create more than 200 jobs. Its “uncrewed surface vessels” (USVs) are in high demand both by the U.S. and foreign national security agencies, able to patrol and intercept enemy vessels without putting any crew in harm’s way. Blue Ops joins Georgia’s vaunted defense industry, headlined by names like Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and Pratt & Whitney, and puts Valdosta on the cutting edge of the burgeoning USV field.
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