Latest news with #Saildrone
Business Wire
13-05-2025
- Business
- Business Wire
Saildrone Closes $60M Financing to Bring Maritime Autonomy to Europe
COPENHAGEN, Denmark--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Saildrone, the global leader in maritime autonomy, today announced the closing of a $60 million investment round led by EIFO, the Export and Investment Fund of Denmark. The investment will be used to bring Saildrone technology to Europe to address the urgent need for maritime security for critical infrastructure and wider defense applications. "Our goal is to provide 24/7, year-round coverage for all critical infrastructure within the Baltic and North Sea, safeguarding these highly valuable installations for current and future generations." – Saildrone founder and CEO Richard Jenkins Share The Baltic, North Sea, and European Arctic waters are currently facing unprecedented threats, and the need for persistent maritime domain awareness has never been greater. Saildrone's extreme endurance unmanned surface vehicles utilize sophisticated sensors, combined with proprietary AI algorithms, to give a full picture of the maritime environment above and below the sea surface. 'I am thrilled to partner with EIFO and the Danish government to establish Saildrone's European headquarters in Copenhagen, Denmark,' said Richard Jenkins, Saildrone's founder and CEO. 'Denmark's unique geographic and political position at the heart of northern Europe makes it the perfect place to establish our European headquarters and operational hub. Working initially with the Danish Armed Forces, we plan to roll out Saildrone's maritime intelligence services to multiple NATO countries during the course of the year. Our goal is to provide 24/7, year-round coverage for all critical infrastructure within the Baltic and North Sea, safeguarding these highly valuable installations for current and future generations.' In addition to EIFO, other participants in the round included existing investors Lux Capital, Washington Harbor Partners, Crowley, and Academy Securities, joined by new investors Pinegrove, BZH Capital, What If Ventures, and Calm Ventures. 'We are thrilled to invest in Saildrone and subsequently that Denmark has been chosen as the center for Saildrone's European activities. Saildrone is a leading company in a rapidly growing market, and gaining access to this technology can become critical for both Denmark's and Europe's security. We expect Saildrone will have an impact on both the Danish defense industry and the Danish challenges with surveillance in the Arctic and counteracting sabotage in Danish waters—at a fraction of the cost of a patrol ship,' said Peder Lundquist, CEO of EIFO. Saildrone will deploy the first four Saildrone Voyagers in the Baltic Sea in June 2025, under contract to the Danish Armed Forces. About Saildrone Saildrone is a maritime defense and oceanographic survey company creating a paradigm shift in how navies, governments, and commercial organizations obtain the real-time, accurate data required to monitor the maritime domain. Powered primarily by renewable wind and solar energy, Saildrone's fleet of unmanned surface vehicles (USVs) provides long-duration operations measured in months, not days. Saildrone USVs carry sophisticated sensors combined with proprietary AI algorithms to give a full picture of the maritime environment above and below the sea surface, supporting border protection, critical infrastructure security, and hydrographic survey. Saildrone has sailed more than 2,000,000 nautical miles from the High North to the Southern Ocean and spent over 50,000 days at sea in the harshest ocean conditions on the planet.
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Denmark to field unmanned vessels for monitoring busy shipping routes
VILNIUS, Lithuania — U.S.-based Saildrone will deploy four large unmanned surface vessels in Danish waters next month to conduct maritime surveillance missions and help protect critical undersea infrastructure. The deployment, which represents Saildrone's first European mission, will be done in close cooperation with the Royal Danish Navy Command and the Danish Ministry of Defense Acquisition and Logistics Organization. Thales, Saildrone pitch a windsurfing fleet of submarine spotters Four 10-meter Voyager USVs equipped with a suite of intelligence-gathering sensors and AI data fusion will be sent to Denmark to support the Danish military gain better maritime awareness. The North and Baltic seas are some of the busiest shipping routes in the world. An estimated 2,000 ships are generally at sea at any given time in the Baltic Sea, according to the Helsinki Commission. Denmark currently lacks sufficient assets to provide consistent and comprehensive monitoring of the waterway. 'The threats we face at sea are different and far more serious than just a few years ago,' the Danish Minister of Defense Troels Lund Poulsen said at a recent press conference. The Danish government approved last month a series of naval expansion plans, including the development of a program dedicated to assessing autonomous platforms such as naval drones and remote-controlled vehicles to conduct underwater surveillance. Saildrone, which announced the establishment of a subsidiary in Copenhagen only a few weeks ago, has plans to expand its presence in the region, the company's President John Mustin told Defense News. 'Our goal is to have that act as a sort of centre of excellence for our platforms, if for example some would need repair or maintenance work, they could do it right there,' the executive said in a May 8 interview.
Yahoo
11-04-2025
- Yahoo
Inside the Navy task group testing drone boats in the Red Sea
A year-old Navy task group assigned to stress-test unmanned surface vessels in the forbidding heat of the Middle East is making breakthroughs — despite interference from hostile actors attempting to damage or nab the boats as they're underway. Earlier this spring, the test unit launched a handful of unmanned vessels from Aqaba, Jordan, into the Red Sea with a broad-edged surveillance mission: to observe the 'pattern of life' in the region and increase maritime domain awareness. These particular drone boats, however, were equipped with technology — the details of which the Navy is not disclosing — to allow them to navigate independently of GPS in the case of hostile efforts to disrupt or block signals from satellites. The boats, which fit in the category of Small Unmanned Surface Vessel, or SUSV, meaning they're less than 14 feet long, are stress-testing tech that may someday be used by the Navy wherever there is a threat of malicious disruption. 'There's certain waterways here in Fifth Fleet that are GPS-contested — you can't just transit there [with] a regular GPS, because the GPS will show you elsewhere, so your position is not accurate,' Lt. Luis Echeverria, commanding officer of the Navy's Bahrain-based Task Group 59.1, told Military Times in an interview. 'So, there is a payload embedded onto this small USV that allows for the USV to understand its actual position while it's being jammed.' Task Group 59.1, nicknamed 'The Pioneers,' activated in January 2024 under Echeverria's command. While the Navy's Task Force 59, also located in Manama, Bahrain, has a broader mission focused on integrating unmanned systems and AI into surface operations, the task group zooms in on manned-unmanned teaming, and tests a variety of drone boat technologies for possible further development or employment. That many of these technologies are commercial innovations and prototypes that the Navy hasn't yet invested in means unit officials must be delicate about the details they disclose to avoid the appearance of endorsement. The vessels deployed in the Red Sea, for example, are most likely variants of the Saildrone Voyager USV, a platform that has participated in Navy testing for several years. 'Saildrone's innovative solution leverages multiple forms of localization, ensuring seamless operation without relying exclusively on satellite systems, and allowing operations to continue in contested environments,' company officials said in a March release highlighting the platform's new GPS-denied technology. Following the systems' test deployment, Echeverria's unit will develop an after-action report with insights into successes and failures and recommendations for the fleet. As the Navy continues to experiment toward the end of finding a meaningful and permanent place for unmanned vessels alongside and in concert with its manned ships, this task group aims to keep the service from investing in tech that's not ready or can't meet the mission. When the unit first stood up it was tasked with deploying Seasats' autonomous surface vessel Lightfish into the Red Sea with some untested deception capabilities, Echeverria told an audience earlier this year at the Surface Navy Association's annual symposium. 'We failed. But that was fine, because there are good failures, and this was a good failure. We failed quickly,' Echeverria said. 'We adapted, we iterated and we overcame.' Later that year, with improvements and better established operating protocols, the vessel was able to sail for 17 days, covering 600 nautical miles and integrating its operations with manned ships in the region, he said. Already, the task group, he said, has sent unmanned vessels it's tested to the U.S. Fourth Fleet — the waters around central and South America — to be used in operations. At the beginning of the year, Fourth Fleet announced the launch of 'Operation Southern Spear,' which will deploy 'long-dwell robotic surface vessels, small robotic interceptor boats and vertical take-off and landing robotic air vessels' to the region for maritime domain awareness and counternarcotics ops. Experimenting in the Red Sea and other waters in the 5th Fleet area of operations does have its challenges. Echeverria cited the extreme heat as another stressor for test vessels. And in January, he acknowledged that, following the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attacks on Israel, the Navy had seen increased efforts by hostile actors to steal unmanned vessels launched by the service. 'We have been able to retain all of them,' he said. In a March interview, Echeverria declined to say whether efforts to capture USVs in the Red Sea still continued. An upcoming experiment in planning by Task Group 59.1 may soon make it easier and more practical for Navy commanders to employ unmanned vessels in concert with manned assets. The experiment, which involves flying drones, will employ them using JP-5, the Navy's standard kerosene-based jet fuel, instead of other fuel variants including JP-4 and JP-8. This change eliminates the need for a waiver and reduces drag, Echeverria said. 'You can quickly deploy the asset where, in the past … you had to take precautionary measures on how you refuel the vessel or the system, so it just makes the process a little bit quicker,' he said. Later this year, the task group will receive an advisor from the Navy's newest rating: Robotics Warfare Specialist, a job created last year in concert with the Navy's work to fast-track unmanned and robotic technology into the fleet. Echeverria said the specialist will help the unit understand how to best employ the technology in its purview and match it to requirements coming from the Navy. 'I have a very skilled group of enlisted sailors that are eager to learn every single day and are eager to get these systems out there, because they understand that this is the future,' he said. 'I'm really excited for what my team has been able to accomplish in such a small time frame … to the point where we're seeing similar assets being utilized in other waterways, just based off of what we've learned out here.'
Yahoo
07-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Thales, Saildrone pitch a windsurfing fleet of submarine spotters
MILAN — Thales Australia has partnered with Saildrone to integrate a towed array sonar system with the Surveyor unmanned surface vessel, promising navies the ability to pinpoint underwater threats through silent operation. The companies' tie-up follows sea trials, funded by the United States Office of Naval Research, during which Saildrone's Surveyor USV, equipped with Thales' BlueSentry sensor package, operated almost uninterrupted for 26 days. Conducted off the coast of California, the tests demonstrated that the systems detected and classified underwater and surface threats, with an uptime averaging more than 96%, according to Saildrone. In the context of underwater drones, the notion of 'uptime' generally refers to the percentage of time the system is available and able to perform its intended missions continuously. 'The trials showed that, under wind propulsion, the Surveyor provided a near-zero self-noise environment, significantly improving the detection capabilities of the BlueSentry sonar system,' a Saildrone press release stated. A fleet of USVs, integrated with these sonar arrays, is intended to be able to operate for extended periods of time, autonomously patrolling large ocean areas and reduce the costs of coverage, per the Thales website. The companies said that the team-up could pave the way for greater 'naval interoperability' between the trilateral AUKUS partners – Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States – and deliver on the security partnership's technology-focused Pillar 2 scope. That line of work is intended to harness the joint industrial and innovation bases of the three countries to ensure that their respective militaries are equipped with advanced and interoperable capabilities. While during the trials the systems relied on Starlink and Iridium satellite communications, Saildrone recently announced a GPS-denied option not reliant on satellites.
Yahoo
07-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Saildrone Appoints Vice Admiral John Mustin as President
Mustin will focus on accelerating defense and intelligence business growth to meet the significant increase in global demand for Saildrone's capabilities. WASHINGTON, April 07, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Saildrone, the world leader in maritime autonomy, today announced the appointment of Vice Admiral John Mustin as President of Saildrone Inc. In this role, Mustin will work alongside Richard Jenkins, Saildrone founder and CEO, to focus on growing the defense business at Saildrone. Mustin joins Saildrone following a distinguished 34-year career in the US Navy. He most recently served as the 15th Chief of Navy Reserve and Commander, Navy Reserve Force, where he led approximately 60,000 Reserve Component personnel supporting Navy, Marine Corps, and joint forces operations worldwide. "John Mustin brings a truly unique blend of naval operational expertise and commercial experience to the company," said Richard Jenkins, founder and CEO at Saildrone. "As naval demand for Saildrone services grows exponentially, John will deliver the leadership firepower I need to grow both the team and the defense business, ensuring our products continue to meet the demands of high-end naval warfare." Beyond his military service, Mustin brings significant commercial and entrepreneurial experience, having founded Wasabi Rabbit, a successful digital customer relationship management firm. As founder and CEO, he grew the company into a leading digital agency specializing in customer acquisition strategies and technology solutions for Fortune 500 clients. His ability to navigate complex organizational challenges while driving innovation and growth positions him perfectly to lead Saildrone's next phase of expansion. "I'm thrilled to join the Saildrone team at this critical moment for global maritime security characterized by a rapidly evolving geo-political environment," said Mustin. "Having spent my career focused on naval operations and technology innovation, I recognize Saildrone's capabilities are transformational to delivering Naval strength to our warfighters at a time when our nation's shipbuilding capacity is floundering. We, and our allies and partners, need high-capability platforms, delivered at scale, immediately. Saildrone defined the category and is the only operationally proven USV technology that is ready to scale today." Based out of Saildrone's Washington, DC, office, Mustin will focus on accelerating the company's defense and intelligence business growth to meet the significant increase in demand for Saildrone's capabilities globally. Mustin holds a Bachelor of Science in Weapons and Systems Engineering from the United States Naval Academy, a Master of Science in Operations Research from the Naval Postgraduate School, and a Master of Business Administration in Finance and Management from the FW Olin Graduate School of Business at Babson College. About Saildrone Saildrone is a maritime defense and oceanographic survey company creating a paradigm shift in how navies, law enforcement, civil government, and commercial organizations obtain the real-time, accurate data required to monitor and protect our oceans. Saildrone's fleet of uncrewed surface vehicles (USVs) carries purpose-built payloads supporting border protection, critical infrastructure security, hydrographic survey, offshore energy, and metocean monitoring. Powered by renewable wind and solar energy, Saildrone USVs provide long-duration operations measured in months, not days. Proprietary software applications and machine learning technology transform collected data into actionable insights and intelligence. Saildrone has sailed more than 1,600,000 nautical miles from the High North to the Southern Ocean and spent over 46,000 days at sea in the harshest ocean conditions on the planet. View source version on Contacts Jenn VirskusDirector Marketing, SaildroneOffice: (510)
