Saildrone Surveyor
A 20-metre ocean-going autonomous platform for deep-water mapping, maritime sensing and trials of additional naval payloads.
- Country / region
- United States
- Programme status
- In service / use documented
- Sources reviewed
- 20 Sept 2026
- Primary domain
- Sea surface
- System type
- Uncrewed surface vessel
- Developer / manufacturer
- Saildrone
- Origin / production countries
- United States
- Other names
- Surveyor USV
- Variants / configurations
- Ocean-mapping configuration; Customer naval payload and demonstration configurations
- Operators / programme customers
- Saildrone — commercial and government missions; United States Navy — RIMPAC 2026 experimentation
Evidence & current status
Operational survey use and experimental naval payload integrations have different maturity. A successful exercise does not establish the fit of every Surveyor.
Role & capabilities
- Deep-ocean seabed mapping
- Long-duration maritime surveillance
- Modular naval payload trials
Specifications in context
- Configuration
- Uncrewed ocean-going survey and sensor platform
Supplier-published figure; configuration and operating conditions affect performance.
Source ↗ - Hull / propulsion
- 80 hp diesel primary; wind auxiliary
Supplier-published figure; configuration and operating conditions affect performance.
Source ↗ - Dimensions
- 20 m length; 13 m wing height; 3.6 m draft
Supplier-published figure; configuration and operating conditions affect performance.
Source ↗ - Displacement / mass
- Not established in the reviewed public sources.
Public data gap; no estimate or neighbouring variant value substituted.
Source ↗ - Payload
- 3 kW continuous and 6 kW peak payload power
Electrical capacity, not mass.
Source ↗ - Endurance
- 100 days between service stops
Supplier-published figure; configuration and operating conditions affect performance.
Source ↗ - Range
- Not established in the reviewed public sources.
Public data gap; no estimate or neighbouring variant value substituted.
Source ↗ - Speed
- 6 knots mapping speed
Not stated as maximum speed.
Source ↗ - Sea state / environment
- Not established in the reviewed public sources.
Public data gap; no estimate or neighbouring variant value substituted.
Source ↗ - Sensors
- Radar, EO/IR, AIS and configurable hydrographic/oceanographic payloads
Supplier-published figure; configuration and operating conditions affect performance.
Source ↗ - Communications / control
- Satellite communications with remote mission support
Supplier-published figure; configuration and operating conditions affect performance.
Source ↗ - Launch / deployment
- Not established in the reviewed public sources.
Public data gap; no estimate or neighbouring variant value substituted.
Source ↗