Beneath the Surface: Inside ANTX Coastal Trident Event DELTA at the Port of Hueneme
Visit the Port of Hueneme, and you’ll see us doing what we do best—making cargo move. The safe, efficient, and reliable movement of goods is what we’re known for. A unique operating model we call the Hueneme Way has built us into one of California’s leading, congestion-free commercial gateways.
But if you’ve visited the port, you know that no two days here are alike. You might see ILWU 46 longshore workers offloading thousands of brand-new cars from an LNG-powered RoRo (Roll-on/Roll-off) vessel, or you could spot hybrid electric cranes placing containers filled with bananas ready to hit grocery store shelves.
Or you might see a vintage airplane floating in the water.
Over four days at the Port of Hueneme, seven regional Bomb Squad and Search and Rescue (SAR) dive teams recently gathered for the ANTX Coastal Trident Event DELTA exercise. The centerpiece of this year's event? A submerged aircraft (an A-35 Bech V-Tail Bonanza) sunk directly in the port, creating a realistic, high-stakes venue where dive teams, engineers, and tech innovators to trained side-by-side.
Why does this matter? Exercises like this ensure that when real-world maritime emergencies strike across our local harbors and coastal waters, the teams protecting us have battle-tested skills, innovative technologies, and seamless communication.
Hands-On Innovation
Navigating a sunken aircraft fuselage is one of the most advanced challenges a public safety diver can face. Darkness, tight spaces, and shifting underwater currents test every aspect of operational readiness.
Throughout the four-day event, regional dive teams focused on two main mission profiles—Underwater Ordnance Clearance (Bomb Defusal), and Search and Rescue Recovery.
Testing Next-Generation Prototype Tech
Participants came from various agencies across Southern California for the chance to integrate innovative technologies, including Garmin’s S1 Buoy diver tracking and communications system, and to cross-train with teams they’ll need to support in mutual-aid incidents. The exercise also facilitated field experimentation with developing underwater domain awareness technologies, including an unmanned surface vessel from Maritime Robotics carrying a Norbit sonar and SIDUS Solutions underwater cameras, a seabed array integrating sensors from Huntington Ingalls Industries, and Hydronet. The underwater exercise allowed divers to provide direct feedback that can influence the ongoing development of systems used in maritime operations.
Cross-Training and Mutual Aid: Why Host ANTX-Delta at the Port of Hueneme
A top-tier training venue requires both realistic conditions and a strong spirit of collaboration. The Port of Hueneme offered the exact structural hazards, tidal shifts, and dynamic water conditions divers encounter during actual emergencies.
Moreover, emergency responses rarely happen in isolation. ANTX Coastal Trident gives neighboring teams the opportunity to cross-train before a crisis occurs, ensuring smooth coordination when mutual aid is required across city and county lines.
The exercise further illustrates the Port of Hueneme’s longstanding partnership with the US Navy. The organizations have a joint-use agreement that allows the Port of Hueneme to use Naval facilities that aren’t needed for military operations. Commercial use generates revenue held in escrow and used for infrastructure improvements of shared facilities. The agreement has generated more than $90 million for Naval Base Ventura County.
A Collaborative Mission
Delivering a multi-day exercise of this scale takes incredible coordination across public safety agencies, naval commands, and industry leaders.
This ANTX-Coastal Trident event is made possible through the Navy’s ongoing collaboration with FATHOMWERX, a technology innovation hub established at the Port of Hueneme in 2018 to connect and accelerate the adoption of promising new technologies. FATHOMWERX brings together partners including Naval Surface Warfare Center Port Hueneme Division (NSWC PHE), Naval Facilities Engineering and Expeditionary Warfare Center (NAVFAC EXWC), Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division (NAWCWD), Economic Development Collaborative, Port of Hueneme, and Matter Labs. Together, this partnership gives small businesses and emerging technology developers a unique venue to demonstrate and test their innovations directly with the Navy — helping bridge the gap between promising new technology and real-world naval and maritime security needs.