Accelint Expands Unmanned Vessel Tech to Bay County

Defense tech company brings autonomous maritime hub to Florida Panhandle

Apr. 8, 2026 at 9:53pm

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A highly detailed, glowing 3D illustration of an autonomous unmanned surface vessel with a sleek, futuristic hull illuminated by neon cyan and magenta lights, surrounded by a network of interconnected digital infrastructure representing the advanced technology powering this maritime autonomy system.Accelint's new autonomous USV technology aims to expand the capabilities of maritime operations, from military defense to disaster response.Panama City Today

Accelint, a defense technology company, has opened a new facility in Bay County, Florida to develop and integrate autonomous payloads for unmanned surface vessels (USVs). The hub will focus on building hulls and adding autonomous, electronic warfare, and kinetic capabilities for military and disaster response applications.

Why it matters

Accelint's expansion into Bay County represents the growing adoption of unmanned maritime technology, which has both military and civilian applications like search and rescue and disaster relief. The new facility is expected to bring nearly 50 jobs to the region, further establishing the area as a hub for defense innovation.

The details

The new Accelint facility will serve as an integration hub for the company's USV technology. Sensors and Autonomous Solutions President Ben Pinx explained they are "building hulls and then putting autonomous payloads, E-W payloads, kinetic payloads" to provide military and government partners with persistent surveillance and interdiction capabilities. These unmanned vessels can also be used for disaster response, with the ability to be controlled from miles away or even a different continent using Starlink satellite internet.

  • Accelint officially opened its new facility in Bay County in April 2026.

The players

Accelint

A defense technology company that specializes in developing autonomous maritime systems and payloads for unmanned surface vessels.

Ben Pinx

President of Accelint's Sensors and Autonomous Solutions division, overseeing the development and integration of the company's unmanned vessel technology.

Becca Hardin

President and CEO of the Bay Economic Development Alliance, which has helped attract Accelint's new facility to the region.

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What they’re saying

“This is Accelint's new USV integration facility. It's a hub for maritime autonomy. What we're doing here is; we're building hulls and then putting autonomous payloads, E-W payloads, kinetic payloads, so that the Department of War and our allies and partners have the access and ability to go out and do persistent ISR and hold, for lack of a better term, bad guys, custody in the maritime demand.”

— Ben Pinx, President, Sensors and Autonomous Solutions

“Let's say something like Hurricane Katrina happens. You could send a fleet of these into a flooded area. Or if a hurricane hits Panama City Beach, you can send a fleet of these into the area in support of search and rescue and resupply of the operations that are ongoing.”

— Ben Pinx, President, Sensors and Autonomous Solutions

“You can do it from a support boat, which is within a few nautical miles, or you can do it over the horizon. You can be a continent away. Most of our testing today, our team has been on a support ship running side by side. While my autonomy engineers are back in New Jersey or down in Orlando, logged in over the horizon using Starlink to completely reconfigure the mission.”

— Ben Pinx, President, Sensors and Autonomous Solutions

“We are really getting a lot of traction in the maritime industry and really getting on the international and national radar screen for boat manufacturing.”

— Becca Hardin, President and CEO, Bay Economic Development Alliance

What’s next

Accelint is expected to bring nearly 50 new jobs to Bay County as it ramps up operations at the new maritime autonomy hub.

The takeaway

Accelint's expansion into Bay County highlights the growing importance of unmanned maritime technology, which has applications ranging from military defense to disaster response. The new facility will help establish the region as a hub for innovation in this rapidly evolving field.