New UK team brings defence, offshore operations, and stakeholder engagement expertise as Cellula strengthens regional presence
London, United Kingdom, 10 March 2026 — Cellula Robotics Ltd. today announced the opening of its UK office, expanding the company’s ability to support European defence, security, survey, and environmental customers with local delivery, trials coordination, and programme execution for long-range autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) systems and integrated subsea solutions.
The UK office formalizes Cellula’s growing engagement across the region and provides a base for in-country collaboration with customers and partners, including project planning, trials coordination, and operational support. The announcement was made during Oceanology International in London, where attendees can meet the UK team.
“Establishing a UK office is a practical step that strengthens how we support customers and programmes in Europe,” said Neil Manning, Chief Executive Officer at Cellula Robotics. “We’re building local capability that reflects the realities of subsea operations, from defence requirements to offshore delivery, and ensuring we can respond quickly with the right technical and operational expertise on the ground.”
The UK office is led by Richard Mills, Chief Commercial Officer, who is overseeing Cellula’s regional growth and customer engagement across the United Kingdom and Europe. He is supported by a new team combining significant experience in defence programmes and offshore operational delivery, alongside expertise in global communications and stakeholder engagement:
Saxon Jones, AUV Operations and Trials Manager, brings experience supporting RAF maritime patrol operations (ASW/ASuW) before transitioning to offshore operations. Saxon has led offshore teams across R&D and commercial projects including pipe and cable surveys, as-laid and decommissioning programmes, geophysical work, and cable lay operations. He also played a lead role supporting the introduction of a new AUV capability through an offshore technical services provider, bringing hands-on experience that connects vehicle integration to real-world offshore execution and trials delivery.
Kira Coley, Head of Marketing & Communications, brings strategic leadership in ocean science and technology communications, including advisory roles supporting IOC-UNESCO and the UN Ocean Decade, and leadership positions with global ocean initiatives. She is part of Leading Women for the Ocean and has served as a senior editor for a leading ocean trade publication. With more than a decade in the ocean technology and environment sector as a prominent writer and strategic communications consultant, she supports Cellula’s programme communications and stakeholder engagement, helping align stakeholders across defence, industry, government, and research communities.
Oliver Morris, Customer Success and Delivery Manager, bring extensive UK defence experience spanning procurement, operational delivery, and systems integration. Ollie served as the UK Operational Co-ordination Officer in OCCAR, managing programme interfaces for the UK MoD, and previously spent eight years in DE&S delivering deployed engineering and operational leadership as an end user for AUV capability, including seabed data and analysis for defence applications. He later supported mine hunting capability development, including system-of-systems integration strategy and approaches to machine learning exploitation, and contributed to establishing the Maritime Autonomy Centre of Expertise (MASCoE) within DE&S, strengthening Cellula’s ability to support defence customers through programme delivery and integration realities.
Meet Cellula at Oceanology International at booth C601
Cellula will be exhibiting and participating in conference programming at Oceanology International (Oi), London, 10-12 March 2026, where attendees can meet the UK team and learn more about long-range subsea autonomy, persistent operations, and integrated subsea systems.