DEPLOY

Buying guide

Saildrone USV (Explorer / Voyager / Surveyor)

By Saildrone · maritime_surface

Price
—
Availability
Internal use only (not for retail).
Maturity
commercial
Real-world use
Yes, 2 verified deployments

Saildrone (founded 2012 in Alameda, California by Richard Jenkins) is the canonical commercial autonomous-surface-vessel company and the captive data-as-a-service archetype of the maritime category: it owns and operates a fleet of wind- and solar-powered uncrewed surface vehicles and sells data and outcomes, not vessels. The line spans the 7-meter Explorer (ocean data), the 10-meter Voyager (coastal defense and mapping), and the 20-meter Surveyor (bathymetric mapping), with a 52-meter diesel-electric hybrid Spectre announced in 2026 for 2027 delivery that departs from the wind-and-solar identity. Customers include NOAA, the US Navy's 4th Fleet (counter-narcotics and illegal-fishing patrol), and Denmark's EIFO, and backers include a $100M Series C, a $60M EIFO round (May 2025), and a $50M Lockheed Martin strategic investment (October 2025). DEPLOY records it at commercial maturity, the most mature commercial surface-autonomy player. A significant cap-flag applies to its cumulative-mileage figures, which are inconsistent across its own channels: the defensible primary anchor is the October 2023 milestone of 1,042,620 nautical miles, 32,438 days at sea, and 136 vehicles; larger 2-to-2.5-million-nautical-mile figures are claimed, not verified. Because it sells data on service contracts and does not sell vessels, there is no consumer price.

Previous generations

The historical entries remain on the registry for reference; current coverage tracks this generation.

Readiness

Saildrone USV (Explorer / Voyager / Surveyor) is internal use only (not for retail), no capability claims are on file, 2 verified deployments are on file, and no incidents are on record.

Availability
internal-only

Internal use only (not for retail).

see evidence →

Price honesty
no-price

No price points on file for Saildrone USV (Explorer / Voyager / Surveyor).

see evidence →

Capability honesty
no-claims

No reviewed capability claims on file for Saildrone USV (Explorer / Voyager / Surveyor).

see evidence →

Real-world use
commercial

Maturity: commercial. 2 verified deployments in the registry.

see evidence →

Safety record
no-incidents

No incidents on record. 2 verified deployments on file.

What it claims to do

No reviewed capability claims on file.

Price

No reviewed price points on file.

Real-world use

Safety record

No incidents on record. 2 verified deployments on file.

Privacy

No privacy practices disclosed or on file for Saildrone USV (Explorer / Voyager / Surveyor).

Specs

notes
  • Verified: Saildrone (founded 2012, Alameda CA; founder Richard Jenkins; President ret. Adm. John Mustin) is the canonical commercial autonomous surface vessel. Customers: NOAA (hurricane/ocean data), US Navy 4th Fleet (counter-narcotics/illegal-fishing; strongest discrete verified scale: ~130,000 nm, ~2,700 mission-days, 116,000 contacts), Denmark/EIFO (4 Voyagers). Funding: $100M Series C (BOND) + $60M EIFO (May 2025) + $50M Lockheed Martin (Oct 2025).
  • CAP-FLAG (cumulative scale inconsistent): Saildrone's cumulative numbers DRIFT across its own channels: Oct 2023 primary milestone = 1,042,620 nm / 32,438 days / 136 vehicles (the defensible verified anchor); homepage now says '2M+ nm / 60,000 days'; Naval News (Apr 2026) says '2.5M miles / 60,000 days' - day-count frozen at 60,000 across two mile-counts. Treat 2M-2.5M nm as claimed-not-verified. ~$374M total funding is an aggregator (Tracxn) figure.
  • AI-substance: genuine autonomy: Long-endurance unattended ocean transits well beyond remote-piloting range. Genuine autonomy; degree of human-on-the-loop supervision during missions is not disclosed (unverified). maturity=commercial (12+ yr, 130+ vehicles, recurring Navy/NOAA/allied contracts, in-production new platforms).
specs
Wind+solar USV classes: Explorer (7m, ocean data), Voyager (10m, coastal defense/mapping), Surveyor (20m, bathymetric + Lockheed JAGM integration). Spectre (announced 2026): 52m diesel-electric hybrid, ~27 kn, ~3,280 nm range, ~$40M/unit (Fincantieri-built, 2027 delivery) - a departure from the wind/solar identity. Captive mission-operation / data-as-a-service (owns + operates the fleet, sells data/outcomes; does NOT sell vessels).
formFactor
maritime (autonomous SURFACE vessel / USV; wind+solar long-endurance ocean autonomy)

What's under the hood

No brain on file for Saildrone USV (Explorer / Voyager / Surveyor).

Frequently asked questions

Is the Saildrone USV (Explorer / Voyager / Surveyor) actually available for purchase?
Not available to consumers. In internal use by Saildrone.Source: Saildrone milestone (Oct 17 2023): 1,042,620 nm, 32,438 days at sea, 136 vehicles
What does the Saildrone USV (Explorer / Voyager / Surveyor) cost?
Not announced.
Where is the Saildrone USV (Explorer / Voyager / Surveyor) being used?
Saildrone USV (Explorer / Voyager / Surveyor) is in use at: Kodiak (2019-05-16) and Global Ocean (2015-01-01).Source: Saildrone
Is the Saildrone USV (Explorer / Voyager / Surveyor) safe?
No incidents on record across 2 verified deployments.
How does the Saildrone USV (Explorer / Voyager / Surveyor) handle privacy?
No privacy practices disclosed or on file for Saildrone USV (Explorer / Voyager / Surveyor).
Who makes the Saildrone USV (Explorer / Voyager / Surveyor)?
Saildrone USV (Explorer / Voyager / Surveyor) is made by Saildrone, based in Alameda, California, USA.Source: Saildrone milestone (Oct 17 2023): 1,042,620 nm, 32,438 days at sea, 136 vehicles

Video

PRIMARY SOURCE
Courtesy of Saildrone

Saildrone footage from its 2023 hurricane-season mission with NOAA, collecting tropical-cyclone data in the Atlantic. Autonomy is sail-powered navigation and endurance; the mission is NOAA-tasked, not autonomously planned.

PRIMARY SOURCE
Courtesy of Saildrone

Saildrone footage from its 2024 hurricane mission with NOAA, with an Explorer-class vehicle collecting data inside Atlantic hurricanes. The data-collection autonomy is navigation and endurance; the mission is NOAA-tasked and human-directed, not self-planned.

PRIMARY SOURCE
Courtesy of Saildrone

Saildrone's overview of its Surveyor-class uncrewed surface vehicle, built for long-range autonomous ISR and deep-ocean mapping with sensor-fusion payloads. Autonomy is navigation and endurance; mission tasking is supervised.

PRIMARY SOURCE
Courtesy of Saildrone

Saildrone footage of its wind- and solar-powered autonomous surface vehicles in a maritime-domain-awareness context. Navigation and endurance are autonomous; missions are tasking-supervised.

Manufacturer

Saildrone (registry record: /companies/saildrone)

Compare side by side

Sources

  1. Saildrone milestone (Oct 17 2023): 1,042,620 nm, 32,438 days at sea, 136 vehicles · https://www.saildrone.com/news/saildrone-surpasses-one-million-nautical-miles
  2. Lockheed Martin $50M strategic investment (Oct 29 2025); Surveyor + JAGM Quad Launcher · https://breakingdefense.com/2025/10/lockheed-martin-invests-50m-in-saildrone/
  3. Saildrone Spectre (52m diesel-electric hybrid, ~27 kn; departure from wind/solar; first delivery 2027) · https://www.navalnews.com/event-news/sea-air-space-2026/saildrone-spectre/
  4. Saildrone US Navy 4th Fleet op: ~130,000 nm, ~2,700 mission-days, 116,000 contacts · https://www.saildrone.com/missions/maritime-security
  5. Saildrone official YouTube (@saildrone), embedded under standard YouTube embed terms. oEmbed author_url verified 2026-06-04. · https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpTc3Yc4HrU · 2026-06-04
  6. Saildrone · https://www.saildrone.com/
  7. Largest USV Fleet Ever Launches 5th Annual Arctic Mission · https://www.saildrone.com/news/2019-arctic-climate-sea-ice-fisheries · 2019-05-16
  8. Fifth Annual Saildrone Mission Launched In Pursuit of the Ice Edge · https://pmel.noaa.gov/news-story/fifth-annual-saildrone-mission-launched-pursuit-ice-edge · 2019-05-16
  9. About Us - Saildrone · https://www.saildrone.com/about

Recent coverage

See all coverage →

Machine-readable: this page as markdown.

Canonical: https://deploy.report/models/saildrone-usv