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Saildrone expands its European presence with a new unmanned surface vessel
With more than a decade of autonomous operations at sea under its belt, U.S. company Saildrone is stepping up its expansion in Europe, strengthening its industrial and operational presence while preparing to deploy Spectre, its largest and fastest unmanned surface vessel (USV) to date.
Designed to operate in contested maritime environments, Spectre can perform ISR missions, as well as underwater detection.
© Saildrone
Founded in 2012 in the United States by Richard Jenkins, Saildrone specialises in USVs designed for both civilian and military missions. Based in Alameda, California, the company designs, builds and operates its own autonomous platforms. It is now looking to take its European expansion a step further, as demand for autonomous maritime surveillance capabilities continues to grow.
Described as the largest and fastest USV in the company’s range, Spectre has been designed for long-range defence and security missions. “It is the culmination of 25 years of relentless efforts to push the boundaries of what is possible. Its unique design is the product of extensive hands-on operational experience,” explains Richard Jenkins, Saildrone’s founder and CEO. “This is not a platform hastily developed in response to a tender, but the result of two decades of careful development aimed at meeting our customers’ operational requirements and addressing critical capability gaps in anti-submarine warfare.”
Designed to operate in contested maritime environments, Spectre can perform a range of missions, including maritime domain awareness, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR), and underwater detection.
“The platform is designed to complement crewed ships and aircraft by maintaining a presence across vast maritime areas for extended periods while keeping personnel safe,” explains Jenn Virskus, Head of Marketing and Communications at Saildrone.
52 metres long with a payload capacity of over 70 tonnes
Spectre is 52 metres long and has a range of more than 8,000 nautical miles at 12 knots, with a top speed of approximately 27 knots. Its payload capacity exceeds 70 tonnes. Another key feature is its modular design, as Saildrone explains: “Its adaptable architecture allows customers and technology partners to integrate a range of sensors, communications systems and mission payloads to meet operational requirements.”
Europe is not a new market for Saildrone. The company already works with government customers in both the United States and Europe and is in discussions with other European countries, particularly in the Baltic and Mediterranean regions. “Saildrone Voyager vessels have already supported the Danish armed forces and NATO’s Task Force X during operations in the Baltic Sea,” the company notes. Other platforms in the range, Surveyor and Explorer, have also been deployed on civilian missions for government and commercial customers, particularly for oceanographic mapping, environmental monitoring and maritime surveillance.
The company expects demand to grow as European countries seek to strengthen surveillance of their maritime domains. To support its ambitions in Europe, Saildrone is expanding its local presence. It has opened an office in Copenhagen, Denmark, which will serve as a permanent base for its commercial and operational activities across the continent.
Saildrone is also gradually establishing a European supply chain and production network, with plans to build Spectre at Van der Valk in the Netherlands and Surveyor at Umoe Mandal in Norway, while the wings will be manufactured by Southern Spars in Poland. This approach is intended to bring production closer to European customers and reduce dependence on transatlantic supply chains.
“While Europe is not a new market for Saildrone, we are significantly expanding our presence as European customers increasingly demand capabilities that are not only proven in European waters, but also built and supported locally,” explains Saildrone.
Towards greater European industrial autonomy
Industrial development is now central to Saildrone’s strategy. The company sees its growing European production network as a way to bring its technologies closer to customers while supporting the continent’s industrial capabilities.
“This approach gives European customers faster access to these capabilities while strengthening the local industrial base, addressing data sovereignty and secure communications requirements, and reducing dependence on transatlantic supply chains,” says a company executive.
With Spectre and its expanding European production network, Saildrone aims to scale up its operations in the market for autonomous maritime systems. This ambition reflects a broader shift in the sector: USVs are moving beyond their role as experimental platforms demonstrating the potential of autonomous technology. They are increasingly seen as viable solutions for sustained ISR missions alongside crewed vessels.
- Pascal Samama
