Saildrone sets sail for Europe with major expansion
Autonomous vessel firm Saildrone is expanding its manufacturing and operations into Europe, opening new production lines in the Netherlands, Norway and Poland alongside a new EU headquarters and technical hiring in Copenhagen.
The expansion covers four strands: the first European-built 52-metre Saildrone Spectre, to be built at Van Der Valk Shipyard in the Netherlands; the next generation of the 20-metre Saildrone Surveyor, to be produced at Umoe Mandal in Norway; Surveyor wings, to be built by Southern Spars in Poland; and new Copenhagen-based roles spanning Mission Management, Vehicle Assembly & Service, Technical Operations and the Pilot Team.
Together, the investments give Saildrone local capacity to build, deploy, operate and support its unmanned surface vehicles (USVs) across European waters. The company says the supplements its existing manufacturing programmes and is intended to boost overall production capacity to meet growing global demand, rather than replace output elsewhere.
“Saildrone USVs have helped governments around the world to improve maritime domain awareness, counter drug trafficking, migrant crossings, illegal fishing, and protect critical marine infrastructure,” said Robert Kleist, managing director of Saildrone Europe.
“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 move builds on six months of Saildrone Voyager operations in the Baltic Sea supporting the Danish Defence Acquisition and Logistics Organisation (DALO), and follows the establishment of Saildrone’s European subsidiary in 2025, backed by a $60 million funding round led by Denmark’s export and investment fund EIFO.
Saildrone’s largest platform, the Surveyor, drew attention last year when it became the first deep-sea unmanned platform to receive full classification from the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS), following the smaller Voyager’s ABS classification in 2023. The 20-metre USV is designed for long-endurance, open-ocean missions, including deep-ocean bathymetry and maritime domain awareness work.
