Hartford Business Journal

HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | FEBRUARY 5, 2024 5 Startups, Technology & Innovation Gov. Ned Lamont (right) listens as Michael Connor, chairman and CEO of ThayerMahan, explains a chart in the company's Operations Center in Groton in November. PHOTO | CONTRIBUTED Riding Tailwinds Led by former U.S. submarine force commander, Groton's ThayerMahan at forefront of autonomous maritime surveillance technology vative autonomous systems" and to improve ThayerMahan's "proprietary acoustic and electronic search systems, in support of Navy and Marine Corps missions." Connor said most of the systems it produces are acoustic monitoring products. The components are provided by numerous suppliers, he said. "We don't try to build every component ourselves." Instead, ThayerMahan engineers the design and related software, "and then we do the final system inte- gration," he said, which can include setting up the systems to communi- cate via satellites. "Managing software and user inter- faces in a cloud environment is a big part of what we do," Connor said. Into the wind While serving the military was the impetus for creating the company, ThayerMahan has evolved to serve commercial clients as well, particularly in the offshore wind turbine industry. The company, which in October 2017 officially opened its Groton headquarters — just 2 miles east of submarine manufacturer General Dynamics Electric Boat — discov- ered that its location in southeastern Connecticut put it close to "the epicenter of U.S. offshore wind," Connor said. The wind power industry was pioneered by large European devel- opers that had won contracts in the U.S., in part by agreeing to use local suppliers and labor, he said. Despite that, when Connor attended industry conferences, he consistently heard complaints that "there's no U.S. talent for this sort of work," which often includes being offshore and underwater. "A significant part of our staff comes from a Coast Guard back- ground. Others are from the ship- building industry around here," Connor said. "There's plenty of relevant talent in New England." So, ThayerMahan began competing for nonmilitary projects that include providing underwater noise-mitigation services to protect sea life during the construction of offshore wind turbines. The company also can locate and remove unex- ploded bombs that were left behind during World War II — both during By David Krechevsky davidk@hartfordbusiness.com I n the hit film, "Top Gun: Maverick," grumpy Rear Adm. Chester "Hammer" Cain (portrayed by Ed Harris) tells Capt. Pete "Maverick" Mitchell (Tom Cruise) that remote-con- trolled aircraft will make fighter pilots obsolete. "The future is coming, and you're not in it," Cain states flatly. Maverick acknowledges that opinion, but only to a point. "Maybe so, sir," he replies, "But not today." While most Navy pilots likely feel the same way, Michael Connor — a retired Navy vice admiral and former commander of U.S. submarine forces — not only recognizes the inevi- tability of remote-con- trolled systems, he understands the need for them. After retiring from the Navy in 2015, Connor teamed with Navy veteran Richard Jude Hine and innovator John Kao one year later to form ThayerMahan Inc., a Groton-based developer of autonomous maritime surveillance technology. Eight years later, the company is thriving. It recently secured $20 million in funding from private investors, while its annual revenues approach $100 million. ThayerMahan's technology includes two autonomous maritime sensing systems, called Outpost and SeaWatch, that have both military and commercial uses in detecting in detail what is below the ocean's surface. "I was a submariner for 35 years," Connor said during a recent interview with the Hartford Business Journal, adding that over those years he became frustrated with the military's "slow rate of adoption of unmanned and remote autonomous systems." A 'Silicon Valley' approach During his time as U.S. submarine force commander, Connor grew to believe the Navy needed to delve deeper into developing remote-au- tomated capabilities because of the rising cost of building ships and subs. He also was aware, he said, of "the new opportunities that were becoming available due to the creation of low-power elec- tronics, cloud-sharing technology, satellite communications and sensing technology." Despite strongly advocating for it, he had only moderate success in convincing the military to divert money toward developing remote-maritime systems. He had no success in persuading private defense contractors to invest in research and development for them. So, he decided that "the only way we could move far enough, fast enough to adopt a more 'Silicon Valley' approach," was to form a company with private investors and "use private capital to do what public organizations would not do fast enough to support our national security." Connor is ThayerMahan's CEO and chairman, while Hine is the president of offshore energy. 'Not the only way to do it' ThayerMahan — named for Alfred Thayer Mahan, a 19th-century Naval officer, historian and strategist — started with a national security focus. "Our early customers were primarily national defense customers," Connor said. Still, convincing those clients wasn't easy, he said. While the Air Force has fully integrated unmanned drones, it was more difficult to persuade admirals that the way they had done things their entire military career "is not the only way to do it," he said. "That's a tough argument." Nonetheless, ThayerMahan succeeded. The company lists the U.S. Office of Naval Research, U.S. Southern Command, U.S. Coast Guard, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection among its Depart- ment of Defense clients. It has won two Defense Depart- ment contracts, each worth more than $19 million, to "develop inno- AT A GLANCE ThayerMahan Inc. Industry: Maritime surveillance technology Top Executive: Michael Connor, CEO & Chairman HQ: 120B Leonard Dr., Groton Website: www.thayermahan.com Contact: 860-785-9994 Michael Connor Richard Hine John Kao

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