Ocean Power Technologies, Inc. (OPTT) is having a good Tuesday. The marine technology company just announced it won a multi-buoy contract exceeding $5 million with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and investors are clearly pleased with the news.

What's the Mission?

This isn't just about floating buoys in the ocean. The contract will deploy several Merrows-equipped PowerBuoy systems to enable what the security folks call "persistent and resident maritime domain awareness" off the coast of San Diego, California. Translation: constant eyes on the water in support of a U.S. Coast Guard mission.

"We are honored to support DHS and the U.S. Coast Guard in strengthening national security at sea, and we look forward to expanding the use of renewable-powered maritime infrastructure across the country's most critical waterways," said Ocean Power CEO Philipp Stratmann.

Here's where it gets interesting: the four platforms will work alongside several Anduril surveillance towers, creating an integrated sensing network. All the data streams feed into Anduril's Lattice Command-and-Control system, giving mission operators unified situational awareness, better detection capabilities, and real-time decision support. It's essentially building a sophisticated maritime surveillance grid powered by renewable energy.

Stock Reaction

OPTT shares were up 17.4% at 39 cents at the time of publication, according to market data.