Saildrone Enters MUSV Race

Saildrone has entered the Navy’s competition for a medium unmanned surface vessel, expanding a field of companies chasing a new class of robot warship. (maritime-executive.com) The company’s bid centers on Spectre, a new unmanned vessel Saildrone says is built for anti-submarine warfare, intelligence collection and strike missions. Saildrone’s website says one version is designed for quiet endurance and another for low-profile, high-speed attacks. (saildrone.com) The Maritime Executive reported April 20 that Saildrone is teaming with Fincantieri Marine Group and Lockheed Martin, and that the proposed vessel can carry containerized payloads for multiple missions. The outlet said Saildrone plans to begin building its first hull shortly and expects sea trials in early 2027. (maritime-executive.com) A medium unmanned surface vessel is a self-deploying boat that can stay at sea without a crew and carry sensors or weapons for fleet missions. The Navy says its Sea Hunter and Seahawk prototypes are about 41 meters, or 135 feet, long and have already taken part in Rim of the Pacific 2022 and Integrated Battle Problem exercises. (navy.mil) The Navy changed course on how it wants to buy these ships just weeks ago. USNI News reported March 26 that the service canceled the Modular Attack Surface Craft program and returned to a medium unmanned surface vessel approach built around a recurring “marketplace” for multiple missions. (news.usni.org) That reset reopened the door for companies whose designs did not fit the Navy’s narrower 2025 plan. A Congressional Research Service report updated January 16 said the Navy had merged its large and medium unmanned vessel efforts into the Modular Attack Surface Craft program in 2025 before shifting again in 2026. (congress.gov) The Navy has been trying to prove the hardware before buying in volume. In December 2024, the service said it completed a 720-hour, or 30-day, engine test with no human intervention or maintenance, a milestone Congress required before moving ahead with larger unmanned surface vessels. (navy.mil) The contractor list is already crowded. The Maritime Executive said rivals now include Saronic, Hanwha with HavocAI, Blue Water Autonomy with Conrad Shipyard, Sea Machines, Anduril with HD Hyundai, and Saildrone’s team with Fincantieri and Lockheed Martin. (maritime-executive.com) This is not the Navy’s first medium robot-ship effort. In 2021, L3Harris received a $60.5 million contract for engineering and technical support on a prototype medium unmanned surface vessel, after an earlier $35 million award to build a prototype with options for eight more. (swiftships.com) Saildrone is arriving with a defense partner and a vessel pitched for both sensing and strike, but the Navy is still shaping the rules of the contest. For now, the program is less a single award than a live tryout for which unmanned ships can actually join the fleet. (saildrone.com)