The Bay Space autonomous maritime firm brings persistent surveillance to the Nice Lakes and Northeast beneath a $15.5 million Coast Guard contract.
Saildrone is deploying 16 Voyager unmanned floor automobiles in help of US Coast Guard missions throughout the Nice Lakes and the Northeast. The Alameda, California-based firm introduced the deployment on Might 11, 2026. The deal runs beneath a $15.5 million contract signed in March.
The fleet offers persistent maritime area consciousness throughout two of the hardest patrol areas in the USA. The northern maritime approaches span hundreds of miles of shoreline, high-traffic waterways, and productive fishing grounds.
Maritime Drone Fleet Strengthens Nice Lakes Border Safety
The Nice Lakes maintain an extended maritime border with Canada. Crewed patrols battle with seasonal climate, huge distances, and busy business site visitors.
The Voyager USVs ship persistent, on-station presence throughout that border. They assist the Coast Guard observe cross-border vessel motion, determine suspicious exercise, and supply early warning of illicit operations similar to drug smuggling.
Saildrone has labored alongside the Coast Guard since 2023. Earlier missions coated counter-drug and migrant interdictions, security of life at sea operations, and counter-IUU fishing efforts within the Southwest and Southeast districts. Earlier protection from Dronelife reported the Voyager additionally supported NATO Activity Drive X within the Baltic Sea in 2025.
“The growth of our partnership with the Coast Guard into the Nice Lakes and Northeast areas displays the worth Saildrone has delivered in prior missions,” mentioned Saildrone President and retired US Navy Vice Adm. John Mustin. “This Voyager fleet will assist the Coast Guard preserve persistent, scalable maritime area consciousness throughout these expansive waters, figuring out threats in actual time and enabling targeted, high-impact interdiction.”
Watching the North Atlantic for Unlawful Fishing
Within the Northeast, the Coast Guard targets unlawful, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing in home grounds. The North Atlantic is huge, distant, and operationally demanding.
Voyager USVs monitor fishing vessel exercise across the clock. The Coast Guard beneficial properties a steady maritime intelligence layer with out burning out crews on lengthy patrols.
Every Saildrone Voyager is a 10-meter (33-foot) maritime drone designed for persistent floor and subsurface surveillance. Onboard sensors embrace high-resolution cameras, superior radar, and Automated Identification System (AIS) receivers.
The platform identifies and tracks vessels and feeds near-real-time knowledge to Coast Guard command facilities. Human operators can then deploy crewed interdiction belongings solely when a verified menace seems.
Saildrone’s USVs run on wind and solar energy, supporting multi-month missions with out refueling. The fleet has logged greater than 2 million nautical miles and 60,000 days at sea over 12-plus years.
Extra info is on the market at Saildrone.
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Ian McNabb is a journalist specializing in drone expertise and way of life content material at Dronelife. He’s primarily based between Boston and NH and, when not writing, enjoys climbing and Boston space sports activities.
