Lübeck (Germany), 23 June 2026 – Gabler Group AG (ISIN: DE000A421RZ9 / Ticker: XK4, the “Company” or “Gabler”) an established developer and manufacturer of mission-critical subsea technologies in the business areas of Submarine Systems, Subsea Communications & Data, and Subsea Power, has secured a contract valued at approximately EUR 6 million through its subsidiary Develogic.
The contract underscores Gabler’s strong market position in safety-critical communication and data systems for maritime applications, further strengthens the Subsea Communication & Data business area, and reflects the continued strong demand across the markets served by the Company. Project implementation will commence immediately following contract award, with initial revenues expected to be recognized in fiscal year 2026.
The contract comprises the delivery of an innovative solution for secure underwater communications as well as the collection, transmission, and processing of data in maritime operating environments. The objective is to expand the capabilities of existing platforms through the flexible integration of external systems and to unlock new applications for maritime and subsea operations.
David Schirm, CEO of Gabler Group AG, commented: “This contract highlights the growing importance of advanced communication and data systems for modern maritime and subsea operations. At the same time, it confirms our technological expertise in safety-critical applications. The renewed business from an existing customer strengthens our position in the Subsea Communication & Data business area and demonstrates the differentiation of our solutions.”
To address these requirements, Gabler’s subsidiary Develogic develops technologies for secure communications, connectivity, and data transmission for maritime and subsea applications. For example, additional sensors or external systems can be integrated into maritime operations, while the resulting data can be transmitted and processed reliably. The technology’s high resilience, modular architecture, and adaptability were key factors in the customer’s decision to award the contract to develogic once again.
The contract reflects the continued positive development of the markets addressed by Gabler Group. As of 31 March 2026, the Company reported an order backlog of approximately EUR 376.8 million and operates in markets driven by long-term investment programs in maritime security, critical infrastructure, and defense technologies.
INVESTOR RELATIONS CONTACT:
Patrick Jacobs
VP Investor Relations
E-Mail: [email protected]
Develogic has confirmed the successful deployment of two Modular Seafloor Landers (MSLs) at depths exceeding five kilometres in the central Pacific Ocean, the deepest operational deployments in the company’s history, alongside delivery of seven Sonartransponders across two North Sea offshore wind farms, marking a significant expansion of its offshore energy monitoring portfolio.
The Pacific deployments confirm that free-fall installation remains viable beyond five kilometres of water depth, a milestone that extends the operational envelope of Develogic’s MSL platform and opens access to a class of seabed environments previously beyond reach for standard instrumentation approaches. The landers were deployed without ROV assistance, free falling to the seabed and touching down the correct way up. Both units are now operational, collecting data and transmitting results via acoustic telemetry to the surface.
The offshore wind programme involved the delivery and installation of seven wireless Sonar Transponders at two producing wind farms in the North Sea. The Develogic Sonartransponder is an acoustic collision warning system that provides underwater vehicles – including survey ROVs, inspection AUVs, and naval submarines with accurate positional data on fixed subsea infrastructure. It responds to predefined acoustic interrogation signals with standardised navigation warnings, enabling approaching vehicles to localise wind farm foundations, inter-array cables, and monopile structures in conditions of limited visibility.
This deployment introduced several technical advances over previous iterations. Electromagnetic (EM) communication across the water-to-air boundary – linking submerged transponders directly to topside infrastructure without acoustic relay – was implemented operationally for the first time in this configuration. Mounting systems were engineered to withstand storm loading equivalent to a 50-year return period event, meeting the structural requirements of permanent installation on operational offshore infrastructure. The project also included a refined installation methodology developed to reduce vessel time and diver exposure during deployment.
Both programmes demonstrate the breadth of environments in which Develogic systems now operate – from the abyssal depths of the Pacific Ocean to the shallow waters of the North Sea. Develogic’s modular engineering philosophy builds subsea systems from configurable, pressure-rated building blocks rather than fixed, single-purpose designs. The same core technologies; acoustic communications, pressure housing architecture and intelligent data management – scale seamlessly from scientific landers operating at depths of 5,000 metres to compact transponder systems supporting offshore wind farms in just 30 metres of water.
The offshore wind sector is entering a phase of rapid expansion in both capacity and geographic scope, with new farms being commissioned at greater distances from shore and in deeper water. The requirement for reliable subsea navigation infrastructure – capable of guiding the growing fleet of AUVs and ROVs operating in and around these sites – is a structural consequence of that expansion. Develogic’s Sonar Transponder programme, now with multiple operational installations across the North Sea, is designed to scale with it.
Further programme milestones, including environmental monitoring redeployments at floating offshore wind facilities in Norway and continued deep-sea operations in the Pacific, are ongoing.
Develogic’s Sono.Vault SubMAReS acoustic recorders have been deployed as part of an environmental impact assessment (EIA) in Japan’s Exclusive Economic Zone, supporting scientific evaluation of the ecological effects of polymetallic nodule extraction at extreme depths – months before Japan’s most significant deep-sea mineral discovery became public.
The assessment is led by the University of Tokyo and Deep Reach Technology, Inc., targeting nodule fields in the seabed around Minamitorishima Island at depths between 5,200 and 5,700 metres. Develogic’s systems were in the water as part of the baseline science phase: the environmental groundwork laid before extraction activities can be sanctioned. That work proved prescient.
In June 2024, the University of Tokyo and the Nippon Foundation jointly announced the discovery of a nodule deposit covering approximately 10,000 square kilometres of seabed, estimated to contain around 230 million tonnes of polymetallic material – including cobalt reserves equivalent to 75 years of Japan’s national consumption. The scale of the find has since accelerated Japan’s timeline toward commercial extraction, with harvester trials anticipated in 2025 and production potentially beginning as early as 2026.
The EIA follows an ecosystem-based management approach in alignment with International Seabed Authority guidelines, with a mandate to establish rigorous environmental baselines before any extraction activities proceed. Develogic’s Sono.Vault SubMAReS systems capture continuous underwater soundscapes and detect marine mammals across the project area. Passive acoustic monitoring of this kind is a foundational requirement in modern deep-sea EIA methodology: sound propagates effectively through water at depth where light does not, making acoustic data one of the most reliable proxies for biological activity and ecosystem health. The datasets generated inform assessments of noise impact, species presence, and habitat disturbance across the full operational lifecycle of the programme.
For Develogic, the project demonstrates the versatility of the Sono.Vault platform. Originally developed for long-duration, autonomous deep-sea acoustic recording, the SubMAReS variant is purpose-built for marine mammal monitoring, with optimised frequency response, on-board detection algorithms, and deployment endurance suited to remote, high-pressure environments. At depths exceeding 5,000 metres, the engineering tolerances involved are considerable: pressure housings, connectors, and electronics must perform reliably over extended periods without maintenance access or intervention.
The Japan EEZ programme positions Develogic as a credible partner for the environmental science dimension of deep-sea resource projects — not as a retrospective supplier, but as part of the scientific infrastructure from the outset. As regulatory frameworks for deep-sea mining mature globally, that early-stage involvement becomes increasingly significant. The data Develogic’s systems collect does not simply satisfy a compliance requirement: it forms part of the scientific record on which extraction decisions, and the public accountability that surrounds them, will ultimately depend.Develogic’s Sono.Vault SubMAReS acoustic recorders have been deployed as part of an environmental impact assessment (EIA) in Japan’s Exclusive Economic Zone, supporting scientific evaluation of the ecological effects of polymetallic nodule extraction at extreme depths — months before Japan’s most significant deep-sea mineral discovery became public.
The assessment is led by the University of Tokyo and Deep Reach Technology, Inc., targeting nodule fields in the seabed around Minamitorishima Island at depths between 5,200 and 5,700 metres. Develogic’s systems were in the water as part of the baseline science phase: the environmental groundwork laid before extraction activities can be sanctioned. That work proved prescient. In June 2024, the University of Tokyo and the Nippon Foundation jointly announced the discovery of a nodule deposit covering approximately 10,000 square kilometres of seabed, estimated to contain around 230 million tonnes of polymetallic material — including cobalt reserves equivalent to 75 years of Japan’s national consumption. The scale of the find has since accelerated Japan’s timeline toward commercial extraction, with harvester trials anticipated in 2025 and production potentially beginning as early as 2026.
The EIA follows an ecosystem-based management approach in alignment with International Seabed Authority guidelines, with a mandate to establish rigorous environmental baselines before any extraction activities proceed. Develogic’s Sono.Vault SubMAReS systems capture continuous underwater soundscapes and detect marine mammals across the project area. Passive acoustic monitoring of this kind is a foundational requirement in modern deep-sea EIA methodology: sound propagates effectively through water at depth where light does not, making acoustic data one of the most reliable proxies for biological activity and ecosystem health. The datasets generated inform assessments of noise impact, species presence, and habitat disturbance across the full operational lifecycle of the programme.
For Develogic, the project demonstrates the versatility of the Sono.Vault platform. Originally developed for long-duration, autonomous deep-sea acoustic recording, the SubMAReS variant is purpose-built for marine mammal monitoring, with optimised frequency response, on-board detection algorithms, and deployment endurance suited to remote, high-pressure environments. At depths exceeding 5,000 metres, the engineering tolerances involved are considerable: pressure housings, connectors, and electronics must perform reliably over extended periods without maintenance access or intervention.
The Japan EEZ programme positions Develogic as a credible partner for the environmental science dimension of deep-sea resource projects — not as a retrospective supplier, but as part of the scientific infrastructure from the outset. As regulatory frameworks for deep-sea mining mature globally, that early-stage involvement becomes increasingly significant. The data Develogic’s systems collect does not simply satisfy a compliance requirement: it forms part of the scientific record on which extraction decisions, and the public accountability that surrounds them, will ultimately depend.
Develogic has been selected as a partner in SWAT-SHOAL, a research programme funded under the European Defence Fund (EDF) to develop swarm and teaming capabilities for manned and unmanned underwater vehicles. The programme, valued at €25 million and coordinated by Navantia, brings together 20 organisations across 11 European nations — among them Atlas Elektronik, Fraunhofer, Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace, Naval Group, Saab Kockums, and Fincantieri NexTech.
Selected by the European Commission under the EDF 2022 call in the Underwater Warfare category, SWAT-SHOAL — an acronym for Swarm and Teaming Operation of Manned and Unmanned Underwater Vehicle Shoal — formally kicked off in Brussels in January 2024. The programme will run for 36 months, with Develogic contributing acoustic communication and underwater navigation technologies to enable coordinated operations between submarine crews and autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) formations.
The central challenge SWAT-SHOAL addresses is interoperability: enabling submarines, surface vessels, divers, and AUVs to operate as a coherent, adaptive unit in contested underwater environments. For that to work, the acoustic communication infrastructure connecting the elements of the shoal must be reliable, low-latency, and survivable — conditions that demand precision engineering across the full signal chain, from subsea node to command interface.
Develogic’s contribution draws on more than two decades of hydroacoustic modem and telemetry development. The company’s HAM series acoustic modems and modular data architecture have been deployed in oceanographic, industrial, and defence programmes across multiple ocean basins. Within SWAT-SHOAL, that experience is applied to one of the most demanding communication environments in defence: multi-node underwater networks operating in dynamic, acoustically complex conditions.
David Schirm, CEO of Gabler Group AG, of which Develogic is a subsidiary, has spoken to the broader strategic significance of this class of capability: the growing demand for advanced communication and data systems in maritime and subsea operations is a structural trend, not a cyclical one. SWAT-SHOAL positions Develogic at the leading edge of that demand, working alongside Europe’s established prime defence contractors to shape how future naval forces operate below the surface.
The programme sits within Develogic’s Naval Defence and Security sector, where the company’s systems are already in operational use for submarine communication, underwater navigation, and critical infrastructure monitoring. Participation in a European Defence Fund programme of this scale reflects both the maturity of Develogic’s technical offer and the growing recognition of acoustic communication as a mission-critical capability in modern naval doctrine.
SWAT-SHOAL is expected to deliver prototype demonstrations by 2026, with results feeding into acquisition programmes across participating member states.