Kimberly Brickler

Kimberly Brickler is a seasoned finance and operations executive with more than 25 years of experience leading finance, corporate strategy & transformation, and mergers & acquisitions across the aerospace, defense, manufacturing, and technology sectors. She has successfully led and supported transactions ranging from $1 million to $4 billion, guiding organizations through complex acquisitions, divestitures, operational turnarounds, and growth initiatives.

Prior to joining MARTAC, Ms. Brickler held senior leadership roles at Sierra Space, L3Harris Technologies, and Cummins Inc.  where she led multi-billion-dollar portfolio shaping, strategic planning,  and cost optimization initiatives delivering over $200 million in sustainable savings and enterprise value improvements. During her tenure at Cummins she earned several awards as both a Six Sigma Black Belt and Master Black Belt, including the coveted Cummins’ Chairman’s Award for driving quality improvements, operational efficiencies, and risk reduction through advanced process improvement methodologies.

Ms. Brickler began her career with PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, building a strong foundation in accounting, financial reporting, and internal controls. She holds an MBA in Marketing and Finance and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the Indiana University Kelley School of Business. Most recently, she completed The Wharton School Executive Leadership Development Program.

Based on Florida’s Space Coast, Ms. Brickler is passionate about supporting the region’s economic development and innovation ecosystem through community engagement, mentorship, and philanthropy. She actively supports various organizations including Florida Institute of Technology, The Scott Center for Autism Treatment, weVENTURE Women’s Business Center, Relentless Equestrian Foundation, Space Coast Frenchie Rescue, The Parker Foundation for Autism and New Life Mission, among others.

James Flatly

James H. (“Seamus”) Flatley, IV brings over four decades of leadership in both the defense industry and military service to MARTAC. He currently serves as the company’s Chief Growth Officer, responsible for architecting and executing MARTAC’s enterprise growth strategy across U.S. and allied defense markets as well as commercial markets.

Mr. Flatley completed a distinguished 22-year career as a combat-decorated naval aviator in the United States Navy, which culminated in command of a carrier-based fighter squadron. Following his military service, Mr. Flatley transitioned to the private sector. From 2005 to 2011, he held key roles initiating, developing, and managing aviation programs for U.S. and foreign militaries in the Middle East.

From 2011 to 2017, he served as President and Chief Business Development Officer of Linxx Global Solutions, a defense company specializing in anti-terrorism training and support services for U.S. and allied forces worldwide. At Linxx, Mr. Flatley increased revenue from $24M to $48M within two years and helped transition the company from private ownership to an employee-owned company.

From 2017 to 2025, Mr. Flatley served as Vice President, Business Development and Chief Operating Officer for IOMAX, an aerospace and defense firm delivering specialized aircraft to international partners across North Africa and the Middle East. There, he led business development efforts with key allies in the region, securing $16M in new business while pivoting the company into the U.S. market and winning $7M in new business within the first year.

Mr. Flatley is a graduate of the United States Naval Academy (B.A.) and the United States Naval War College (M.A.).  He is on the Board of Directors for the USS Yorktown Foundation.

Scott Empson

Scott Empson has over 35 years of experience in marine production, design, engineering, and operations. He currently serves as MARTAC’s Vice  President of Production, following earlier roles as Senior Production Engineer and Production Consultant for the MARTAC Devil Ray large boat product line.

Mr. Empson served for 4 years in the United States Air Force as a Weather/Navigational Aid Electrical Technician. After his military service, he joined Boston Whaler Boats where he held numerous roles including Line Lead, Shop Foreman, New Product Manager and Senior Electrical Designer. He later joined Hell’s Bay Boatworks during its first year of operation, outfitting a new production facility and helping to grow the company’s offerings from a single product to eight additional models.

Mr. Empson also served as Director of Engineering at Edgewater Powerboats, introducing 22 new boat models over a ten-year period. While at Edgewater, he developed the patented Single Piece Infusion process that combines the hull structural system into the infusion process, reducing production time and increasing hull strength. Immediately before joining MARTAC, he was founder and partner of custom bay boat manufacturer Islamorada Boatworks, and founder/owner of Advanced Marine Electrical Design and Consulting.

Mr. Empson is a graduate of the Community College of the Air Force and Daytona State College.  He is American Boat & Yacht Council certified in all Marine Manufacturing Processes.

Jim Harvey

As MARTAC Chief Technology Officer, Jim Harvey leads technology strategy and business development for the company’s market-leading unmanned surface vessels. He focuses on identifying, prioritizing, and guiding research, development, test, and evaluation (RDTE) efforts to drive innovation, scalability, and operational efficiency. Bridging executive vision and technical execution, he ensures emerging technologies are evaluated, integrated, and delivered responsibly to support growth, performance, and future readiness.

Mr. Harvey is a retired U.S. Navy Senior Chief and national security innovator with over two decades of service as a cryptologist at the National Security Agency and USSOCOM. As a founding member and head of the Naval Special Warfare Command Innovation Directorate (N9), he built a technology portfolio from scratch — coordinating over $400 million in funding from ONR, DARPA, SOCOM, and other resource sponsors — and co-authored maritime autonomy concepts that generated over $800 million in RDTE funding in the FY24 defense plan. His work during this period culminated in fielding the first AI-powered drone deployed in combat.

Following his Navy career, Mr. Harvey continued shaping the defense technology landscape as a Global Fires Integration Manager for the Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office, leading Palantir and Anduril teams in building interoperable battle management software in support of CJADC2 — driving fires coordination at machine speed across INDOPACOM, SOCOM, and USSPACECOM. He also served as a Senior Program Manager at AeroVironment, overseeing a $50 million autonomous robotics portfolio spanning computer vision, loitering munitions, and unmanned systems development for the Office of Naval Research.

Mr. Harvey is also an award-winning independently-published author of technothrillers under the pen name J.L. Hancock, and volunteers as a National Security Entrepreneur in Residence in UC San Diego’s Start Blue and i4NS innovation programs.

Tony Smeraglinolo

Tony Smeraglinolo has over 30 years of experience driving transformation and customer-centric growth strategies within the government services industry. Immediately prior to MARTAC, Mr. Smeraglinolo was President and Chief Executive Officer of Engility Corporation (NYSE: EGL), a $2.1B leading provider of best-in-class training capabilities, specialized technical consulting, program and business support services, engineering and technology lifecycle support, and supply chain and logistics management services. He assumed this role after leading the spin-off of Engility from L-3 in 2012. 

Mr. Smeraglinolo’s tenure at Engility was defined by shareholder value creation through strategic M&A and growth through relentless focus on the most complex customer problems. He diversified the company’s portfolio away from being 80% DoD-dependent, pivoting to a higher-end service model, new price-disruptive products, and leading the acquisitions of DRC and TASC. His strategy transformed Engility into a top five service company that derives greater than 50% of its business from Civil and INTEL markets, and drove a 66% growth in revenue and a 300% increase in share price. Under his leadership, Engility ranked 30th in Washington Technology’s Top 100 largest contractors in the government market place. He was awarded  Deal Maker of the Year by the Association for Corporate Growth (ACG) in 2014, named to The Washington 100 by Executive Mosaic, and received GovCon’s Executive of the Year for Companies greater than $300M. 

Prior to the spin-off, Mr. Smeraglinolo was the Executive Vice President of the $4 billion L-3 Services Group, and Acting President, Command & Control Systems and Software division, L-3 Services Group. He was responsible for driving the two year strategy leading to the spin-off of L-3’s six government services business units to form Engility in July 2012. 

Mr. Smeraglinolo began his career at Harris Corporation where he held roles of increasing responsibility across finance, program management, business development and operations during his 25 year career with the organization. Following Harris Corporation, he served as President of the L-3 Services Group’s Intelligence Solutions Division for three years before he was recruited to be President of the Global Stabilization and Development Solutions division for Dyncorp International. 

Mr. Smeraglinolo earned his Master of Business Administration in Finance from Florida Institute of Technology and his Bachelor’s degree in Business Management, with a minor in Accounting, from Fairfield University in Connecticut.

MARTAC Announces Opening of Innovation Center West in San Diego, California

New west coast facility expands MARTAC’s operational footprint and accelerates growth of autonomous maritime capabilities

San Diego, CA — June 3, 2026 — Maritime Tactical Systems, Inc. (MARTAC), a leading provider of fully autonomous unmanned surface vessels (USVs), today announced the opening of the MARTAC Innovation Center West in San Diego, California. The new facility marks a significant milestone in the company’s strategic expansion, strengthening its ability to serve defense, security and commercial customers across the West Coast and Pacific regions.

The MARTAC Innovation Center West will serve as a hub for research, development, testing and customer engagement, complementing MARTAC’s headquarters in Melbourne, Florida. San Diego’s deep ties to the U.S. Navy, its thriving defense technology ecosystem and its access to open-water testing environments make it the ideal location for MARTAC’s next phase of growth.

“The opening of our Innovation Center West represents a pivotal step in MARTAC’s growth strategy,” said Jim Harvey, Chief Technology Officer of MARTAC. “San Diego is home to the largest concentration of naval assets in the world and an unmatched community of defense innovators. Establishing this facility allows us to work more closely with our customers, accelerate development timelines, and expand the reach of our autonomous maritime solutions.”

The new center will support a range of activities, including advanced engineering and systems integration, live-water demonstrations of MARTAC’s autonomous vessels, customer training and mission planning and collaborative development with defense and industry partners. The facility is expected to create new jobs in the San Diego area and further cement MARTAC’s position as a leader in the rapidly growing unmanned maritime systems market.

MARTAC’s facility expansion comes at a time of accelerating demand for autonomous maritime capabilities. The U.S. Navy has outlined plans to significantly grow its fleet to include a substantial number of uncrewed vessels, and MARTAC’s combat-proven platforms—including the MANTAS™ T-series and Devil Ray™—are already in operational deployment supporting fleet operations worldwide.

“Our customers are telling us they need more capacity, faster delivery and closer collaboration,” Tony Smeraglinolo, CEO added. “The Innovation Center West answers all three. It positions MARTAC to scale alongside the growing demand for autonomous maritime systems and ensures we remain at the forefront of this critical national security capability.”

About MARTAC

MARTAC is a global leader in Unmanned Surface Vessel (USV) solutions, delivering high-performance, modular and operationally-proven autonomous systems to military, security, commercial and scientific customers. Headquartered in Melbourne, Florida, MARTAC has a proven track record with thousands of hours operating in diverse conditions. MARTAC’s innovative fleet—including the MANTAS™ X-Class and Devil Ray™ Expeditionary Class platforms—sets the industry bar for USV endurance, reliability and operational control – combining unprecedented stability, speed and range of coverage that meet real-world mission demands. For more information, visit www.martacsystems.com.

Media Contact:

W2 Communications  [email protected]