Armed USV from Saildrone and Lockheed Martin
The US Navy is increasingly focusing on a hybrid fleet in which traditional manned warships work together with unmanned systems. This strategy is intended to improve maritime situational awareness and enable distributed operations. Saildrone supports this vision by integrating weaponry into proven unmanned surface vehicles. As part of this development, Saildrone and Lockheed Martin have entered into a partnership.
The first concrete step in this partnership is to equip the 20-meter-long Saildrone Surveyor with Lockheed Martin’s JAGM launcher. The Surveyor is a long-range, high-endurance USV designed for months of autonomous operations anywhere in the world with minimal human intervention. The vehicle provides maritime ISR (intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance) capabilities and deep ocean mapping.
What payloads will be integrated?
Equipped with sensors, radars, and communications equipment, the Surveyor is capable of detecting, tracking, and classifying objects in near real time to accelerate operational decisions with the insights gained. In addition to equipping the Surveyor with the JAGM launcher and other payloads, Lockheed Martin is investing $50 million in Saildrone. This investment is intended to enable the integration of command and control enhancements.
The combination of commercial and defense-related technologies is intended to help the US Navy realize its vision of a hybrid fleet. Proof-of-concept integrations and a live-fire demonstration are planned for summer 2026. In addition, larger Saildrone USVs are being developed to support a wider range of Lockheed Martin payloads, including the Mk-70 VLS launcher.
How long have Saildrone USVs been in use?
As the world’s most experienced USVs, according to their own statements, Saildrone platforms are already in operation year-round. First deployed by the US Navy in 2021, Saildrone vehicles are currently supporting US Navy and Coast Guard missions in the Middle East, the Caribbean, the Gulf of America, the Atlantic, and the Pacific. The vehicles are designed for global deployment in the world’s harshest maritime environments.
Most recently, Saildrone supported Operation Windward Stack and Operation Southern Spear to bolster the government’s efforts to secure the southern border of the United States. The Saildrone USVs contributed directly to this mission by detecting, tracking, and relaying the exact coordinates of boats carrying illegal contraband. Last year alone, Saildrone spent more than 10,000 cumulative days on the water, providing persistent maritime ISR, covering over 380,000 nautical miles, and identifying 2,376,583 vessels. The fully ABS-classified Saildrone USVs are manufactured in America and are designed to navigate the open ocean reliably and autonomously while providing near real-time information to operators.
Internet: https://www.saildrone.com
Photo: Courtesy Saildrone
