Saildrone

For 250 years, freedom has depended on people willing to stand the watch. Today, the need for vigilance extends far from shore, in rough seas and contested waters—places most Americans will never see. Saildrone builds and operates unmanned surface vehicles that help US and allied forces see farther, stay longer, and act faster. In everything we do, we are guided by a common purpose: to advance our country’s national and economic security and support missions that protect the people, infrastructure, and resources that depend on the sea. Happy Independence Day from all of us at Saildrone. May freedom ring for the next 250 years!

We’re proud to be supporting the United States Department of War in operations around the globe. From the Caribbean and the Eastern Pacific to the Middle East, Saildrone unmanned surface vehicles are operating globally.

From the Baltic Sea and the Middle East to the Great Lakes and the southern border, the Saildrone Voyager is the only long-dwell unmanned surface vessel capable of multi-month missions, providing persistent maritime domain awareness, augmenting US Navy and Coast Guard capabilities at a fraction of the cost of traditional assets. The Voyager has proven its resilience by reliably staying on station through harsh weather and successfully navigating challenging environments, including areas with jammed or spoofed GPS signals. It’s out there, 24/7, autonomously, for months at a time, in the most demanding environments. Dedicated to maritime domain awareness and coastal security, the Voyager is equipped with advanced cameras, radar, and sensors to deliver real-time intelligence to identify threats and enable rapid decision-making. Support drug busts? ✅ Prevent illegal immigration? ✅ Track the Russian ghost fleet? ✅ Support US and Allied Forces around the world? ✅ Been there. Done that. Still there. Doing it. Recognized by the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) for its design, reliability, and safe operations, the Voyager continues to redefine what is possible for autonomous maritime defense systems.

Saildrone operates globally, remaining on station and on mission in critical maritime regions. Our remote operations team in St. Thomas supports a diverse range of fleets and critical missions across the Caribbean. Our Explorer fleet is deployed from St. Thomas for hurricane monitoring, tracking the paths of tropical storms to gather critical oceanographic and meteorological data that help forecasters improve their prediction models. Saildrone Voyagers (not pictured) support the US Navy’s 4th Fleet, establishing persistent maritime domain awareness to counter drug trafficking and human smuggling. This continuous presence allows the Navy to map common trafficking routes. And Saildrone Surveyors provide high-resolution seafloor mapping and additional maritime domain awareness across strategically important waters—supporting safe navigation, infrastructure planning, environmental understanding, and security operations throughout the region. These Caribbean deployments highlight the unmatched versatility and operational experience of Saildrone USVs—supporting national security imperatives at a global scale for governments, militaries, and law enforcement 24/7.

The shape of the seabed affects safe navigation, global trade, national security, climate modeling, marine conservation, sustainable fisheries, and the responsible use of marine resources, yet most of the ocean floor remains unmapped. June 21 is World Hydrography Day, a moment to recognize the hydrography community that turns the unknown ocean floor into usable knowledge. At Saildrone, our bathymetry team is essential to that work. They operate the sonar systems on Saildrone USVs, manage complex survey missions, and help collect high-quality seafloor data in remote and challenging ocean environments. The data shown in this video was collected by Saildrone around the Cayman Islands. Saildrone’s bathymetry team turned that seafloor data into the fly-through shown here, offering a rare view of the underwater terrain that supports maritime safety, navigation and charting, sustainable fisheries, and responsible seabed management. Hydrography makes the seafloor visible. Saildrone is proud to help make that possible, in places where better ocean data matters most.

Saildrone USVs are equipped with high-resolution 60-degree cameras to capture all sorts of maritime activity, in particular, incredible imagery from inside hurricanes that would otherwise not be possible to capture. But those images aren't just for show; researchers at NOAA’s Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory (AOML) are using those images to drive scientific discovery. Using data gathered by Saildrone Explorers across 19 tropical cyclone intercepts from 2021 to 2024, NOAA researchers were able to directly quantify ocean drag during intense storms. The analysis revealed that ocean friction actually levels off at extreme wind speeds rather than decreasing, and that this drag is 20% higher on a storm’s motion-left side due to misaligned wind and wave fields. This breakthrough required Saildrone Explorers to endure a wide range of extreme conditions to gather the necessary readings from the air and water column. As noted by NOAA researchers in their paper, published by Science Magazine: “The saildrones sampled a wide variety of storm sizes, translation speeds, and intensities. The radius of sustained hurricane-force wind speed ranged from 35 km in Idalia (2023) to 205 km in Lee (2023) ... To quantify more objectively changes in the ocean’s surface with changing wind speed, we analyzed 97 visual images recorded by saildrones in seven different hurricanes.” This research will directly contribute to improving forecasters’ prediction models and our understanding of hurricane rapid intensification. But the work is far from over. In conjunction with NOAA, we’re preparing to again deploy our Saildrone Explorer fleet this summer to continue intercepting hurricanes and supporting research like this to enhance national and economic security. Read more from NOAA here: https://lnkd.in/eGGNCSxT

We’re hiring across engineering, finance, and field operations at Saildrone. Join us in building the world’s most advanced uncrewed surface vehicles and ocean data platform. Open roles include: • Sr. Engineering Manager, Field Service • Corporate Controller • Staff Software Engineer, Developer Experience - Bazel • Staff Electrical Engineer • Staff Software Engineer, Perception Explore our latest opportunities at saildrone.com/careers

For Bradley Lesley, field operations at Saildrone means keeping missions moving forward—no matter the environment, the challenge, or the conditions on the ground. His work spans preparing vehicles for deployment, keeping them operational in the field, and solving technical, logistical, and tactical challenges in real time. From the heat of the Gulf to an unexpected spring freeze in Copenhagen, every mission brings a new set of conditions and a new opportunity to problem-solve alongside a highly capable team. The work is hands-on, high-impact, and constantly evolving. It requires ownership, collaboration, and the ability to make sound decisions under pressure. If that sounds like the kind of challenge you’re looking for, Saildrone is hiring. Find open roles on Bradley’s team and more at saildrone.com/careers