{"id":"385b5e9b-4631-4e27-8b28-23993f6c0cf9","companyId":"cf9ac30f-cbfb-4469-96ef-452e4f16f920","modelName":"Saildrone USV (Explorer / Voyager / Surveyor)","slug":"saildrone-usv","description":"Saildrone (founded 2012 in Alameda, California by Richard Jenkins, with retired three-star admiral John Mustin as president) is the canonical commercial autonomous surface vessel company, operating wind- and solar-powered uncrewed surface vehicles for ocean data collection, mapping, and maritime domain awareness. Its line spans the 7-meter Explorer, the 10-meter Voyager, and the 20-meter Surveyor, with a new 52-meter diesel-electric hybrid Spectre announced in 2026 for delivery in 2027 that departs from the wind-and-solar identity. It runs a captive mission-operation model, owning and operating the fleet and selling data and outcomes rather than vessels, with customers including NOAA, the US Navy's 4th Fleet for counter-narcotics and illegal-fishing work, and Denmark's EIFO, and funding including a $100 million Series C, a $60 million EIFO round in May 2025, and a $50 million Lockheed Martin strategic investment in October 2025. The registry records it at commercial maturity, the most mature commercial surface-autonomy player, on twelve-plus years of operation, 130-plus vehicles, and recurring contracts. A significant cap-flag applies to its cumulative-scale figures, which are inconsistent across its own channels: an October 2023 primary milestone of 1,042,620 nautical miles, 32,438 days at sea, and 136 vehicles is the defensible verified anchor, while its homepage now claims more than 2 million nautical miles and a separate 2026 figure cites 2.5 million miles, both with the day-count frozen at 60,000, so the 2-to-2.5-million-mile claims are treated as not verified. The strongest discrete verified scale is its Navy 4th Fleet operation of about 130,000 nautical miles over roughly 2,700 mission-days. Its autonomy is genuine, though the degree of human supervision during missions is undisclosed.","formFactor":"maritime","maturityStage":"commercial","lifecycleState":"active","supersededByModelId":null,"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)"},"manufacturerSerial":null,"reviewStatus":"reviewed","sources":[{"url":"https://www.saildrone.com/news/saildrone-surpasses-one-million-nautical-miles","title":"Saildrone milestone (Oct 17 2023): 1,042,620 nm, 32,438 days at sea, 136 vehicles","sourceName":"Saildrone (official)"},{"url":"https://breakingdefense.com/2025/10/lockheed-martin-invests-50m-in-saildrone/","title":"Lockheed Martin $50M strategic investment (Oct 29 2025); Surveyor + JAGM Quad Launcher","sourceName":"Breaking Defense"},{"url":"https://www.navalnews.com/event-news/sea-air-space-2026/saildrone-spectre/","title":"Saildrone Spectre (52m diesel-electric hybrid, ~27 kn; departure from wind/solar; first delivery 2027)","sourceName":"Naval News"},{"url":"https://www.saildrone.com/missions/maritime-security","title":"Saildrone US Navy 4th Fleet op: ~130,000 nm, ~2,700 mission-days, 116,000 contacts","sourceName":"Saildrone (official)"}],"aliases":["Saildrone Explorer","Saildrone Voyager","Saildrone Surveyor","Saildrone Spectre"],"collisionRisk":"low","reviewNote":null,"manufacturerTermForTeleop":null,"createdAt":"2026-06-03T21:43:47.269Z","updatedAt":"2026-06-03T21:43:47.269Z","jsonLd":{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Product","@id":"https://registry.deploy.report/models/saildrone-usv","url":"https://registry.deploy.report/models/saildrone-usv","name":"Saildrone USV (Explorer / Voyager / Surveyor)","alternateName":["Saildrone Explorer","Saildrone Voyager","Saildrone Surveyor","Saildrone Spectre"],"description":"Saildrone (founded 2012 in Alameda, California by Richard Jenkins, with retired three-star admiral John Mustin as president) is the canonical commercial autonomous surface vessel company, operating wind- and solar-powered uncrewed surface vehicles for ocean data collection, mapping, and maritime domain awareness. Its line spans the 7-meter Explorer, the 10-meter Voyager, and the 20-meter Surveyor, with a new 52-meter diesel-electric hybrid Spectre announced in 2026 for delivery in 2027 that departs from the wind-and-solar identity. It runs a captive mission-operation model, owning and operating the fleet and selling data and outcomes rather than vessels, with customers including NOAA, the US Navy's 4th Fleet for counter-narcotics and illegal-fishing work, and Denmark's EIFO, and funding including a $100 million Series C, a $60 million EIFO round in May 2025, and a $50 million Lockheed Martin strategic investment in October 2025. The registry records it at commercial maturity, the most mature commercial surface-autonomy player, on twelve-plus years of operation, 130-plus vehicles, and recurring contracts. A significant cap-flag applies to its cumulative-scale figures, which are inconsistent across its own channels: an October 2023 primary milestone of 1,042,620 nautical miles, 32,438 days at sea, and 136 vehicles is the defensible verified anchor, while its homepage now claims more than 2 million nautical miles and a separate 2026 figure cites 2.5 million miles, both with the day-count frozen at 60,000, so the 2-to-2.5-million-mile claims are treated as not verified. The strongest discrete verified scale is its Navy 4th Fleet operation of about 130,000 nautical miles over roughly 2,700 mission-days. Its autonomy is genuine, though the degree of human supervision during missions is undisclosed.","identifier":"385b5e9b-4631-4e27-8b28-23993f6c0cf9","category":"maritime","publisher":{"@id":"https://deploy.report/#organization"}}}