Powered by renewable wind and solar energy, Saildrone USVs provide long-duration operations measured in months, not days. | Source: Saildrone
Saildrone Inc. this week announced that it is establishing a European subsidiary in Denmark. The Alameda, Calif.-based company said it aims to address the urgent need for maritime domain awareness in European waters.
Announced at the Maritime Industry Symposium at the Danish Embassy in Washington, D.C., Saildrone Denmark will be based in Copenhagen.
“Given the recent sabotage of critical undersea infrastructure in the Baltic Sea, the need for permanent maritime domain awareness has never been greater,” said Richard Jenkins, Saildrone founder and CEO. “I am delighted to announce the establishment of Saildrone Denmark to facilitate our European operations and support allied nations, at this critical time for regional maritime security.”
With increasing geopolitical tensions and rising activity such as sabotage of telecommunication cables in the Baltic Sea, Saildrone said the need for persistent maritime intelligence is paramount.
Saildrone claimed that its uncrewed surface vehicles (USVs) offer endurance and resilience. They are capable of operating autonomously for extended durations in the world’s harshest maritime environments, said the company.
It added that its systems can collect real-time, accurate data for navies, law enforcement, civil government, and commercial organizations. Saildrone said it has sailed more than 1.6 million nautical miles from the High North to the Southern Ocean. Its systems have spent over 46,000 days at sea in the harshest ocean conditions on the planet.
The Voyager USV earned Saildrone a 2025 RBR50 Robotics Innovation Award for its mapping of previously unexplored areas of the Gulf of Maine. Learn more at the RBR50 Gala at the Robotics Summit & Expo.
Saildrone aims to advance seafloor mapping
Equipped with a suite of advanced sensors, Saildrone’s systems deliver real-time intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) above and below the surface. This enables the detection of anomalous behavior, monitoring of vessel traffic, and the protection of national interests in strategically sensitive waters.
In addition to surface surveillance, Saildrone vehicles can conduct detailed mapping of the ocean floor. The company said it hopes to deliver a critical advantage in monitoring and securing subsea infrastructure. This includes pipelines, communication cables, and offshore energy platforms.
Pairing high-resolution seafloor imagery with proprietary machine learning algorithms enables early detection of potential threats or anomalies, noted the company. This enhances Europe’s ability to safeguard its undersea assets against both conventional and hybrid threats.
Denmark is uniquely situated in the center of the European maritime environment, with coastlines on both the Baltic and North Seas. Saildrone Denmark will be the hub for all European operations. It will employ local staff to provide support, training, and mission-planning capabilities to regional customers and partners.
Earlier this week, Saildrone integrated its Surveyor USV with the BlueSentry thin-line towed array from Thales Australia. The result is a system for autonomous long-endurance undersea maritime domain awareness, or MDA, for Australia, the U.S., and the U.K.
Reflecting its focus on responding to geopolitical and security needs, the company also named Vice Admiral (ret.) John Mustin as president.
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