Saildrone, a California-based ocean drone manufacturer that builds autonomous vehicles by the same name, has three drone variants under contract with the US Navy.
With a length of 65 feet and a weight of over 33,000 pounds, the Saildrone Surveyor, which was built specifically for the Navy, is the world’s largest autonomous ocean-mapping vehicle class in operation. The diesel-powered drone employs an advanced radar and camera system, echo sounders, and sensors to map and monitor its environment, remotely transmitting the data with advanced machine learning anywhere in the world.
Late last year, the US Navy also deployed 10 Saildrone Voyagers as part of its efforts to build a hybrid fleet. Powered by solar and wind energy, the Voyager is designed to be an environmentally friendly, midsize autonomous platform, clocking in at about half the size of the Surveyor. It is equipped with a suite of sensors and instruments, like smart cameras, digital radar, and subsurface passive acoustics.
With a hull length of 23 feet, the Saildrone Explorer is the smallest USV built by the company but can still carry an array of advanced sensors and radars to collect high-quality data at sea.