Saildrone USV (Explorer / Voyager / Surveyor)

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.

Readiness

Saildrone USV (Explorer / Voyager / Surveyor) is internal use only (not for retail), no capability claims are on file, the model has no verified field deployments in the registry, 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. No verified deployments in the registry.

see evidence →

Safety record

no-incidents

No incidents on record. No verified deployments either.

What it claims to do

No reviewed capability claims on file.

Price

No reviewed price points on file.

Real-world use

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

Safety record

No incidents on record. No verified deployments either, so the absence is uninformative.

Privacy

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

Specs

notes

[{"label":"Verified","value":"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)."},{"label":"CAP-FLAG (cumulative scale inconsistent)","value":"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."},{"label":"AI-substance: genuine autonomy","value":"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?

No verified field deployments on record.

Is the Saildrone USV (Explorer / Voyager / Surveyor) safe?

No incidents on record, but with no verified field deployments either, the absence is uninformative.

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

Compared to

• Saronic USV (Corsair / Mirage / Marauder)by Saronic Technologies · maritime
• SM300 / SM200by Sea Machines Robotics · maritime

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 ↗