US-headquartered company Saildrone, which designs, builds, and operates commercially developed wind-powered unmanned surface vessels (USVs), has announced a major expansion of its European footprint, with new manufacturing locations and operation centres.
The expansion includes Saildrone’s new EU headquarters in Copenhagen and three separate European build contracts in Norway, Poland, and the Netherlands.
Richard Jenkins, Saildrone founder and CEO, said: “We are proud to announce not one, but three large construction projects. The first 52m Saildrone Spectre will be built at Van Der Valk Shipyard in the Netherlands; the next generation of the Saildrone Surveyor will be produced at Umoe Mandal in Norway; and Southern Spars will produce Surveyor wings in Poland. Our EU headquarters in Copenhagen will facilitate business development, maintenance operations, and piloting activities throughout our European operations.”
These investments establish regional capacity to build, deploy, operate, and support Saildrone USVs for European customers.
Robert Kleist, Saildrone Europe MD, added: “Saildrone USVs have helped governments around the world to improve maritime domain awareness, counter drug trafficking, migrant crossings, and illegal fishing, and protect critical marine infrastructure. We are pleased to bring that proven capability to our European partners facing many of the same challenges. Bringing Saildrone manufacturing and operations to Europe creates an enduring sovereign capability for our European customers.”
The Copenhagen office provides a permanent base for Saildrone operations in Northern Europe. New roles in mission management, vehicle assembly & service, technical operations, and the pilot team will build local capability to deploy, operate, and support Saildrone USVs directly from Denmark.
Saildrone has a fleet of over 70 USVs globally deployed, across four classes of USV: the 7m Explorer, the 10m Voyager, the 20m Surveyor, and the 52m Spectre. The European subsidiary is supported by US$ 60m funding round led by EIFO – the Export and Investment Fund of Denmark, and began operating in Danish waters two months later. Saildrone platforms combine AI, advanced sensors, secure communications, and endurance to deliver persistent, wide-area maritime intelligence and insight.
Image: Saildrone USV (credit: Saildrone)
