Please select your home edition
Edition
North Sails Performance 2023 - LEADERBOARD

Saildrone scales production of new Voyager to meet demand for ocean mapping

by Saildrone 29 Mar 11:52 UTC
Meet the new Saildrone Voyager USV © Saildrone

To meet the growing demand for advanced data-collection capabilities at sea, Saildrone has developed the 33-foot Voyager designed for near-shore ocean mapping and maritime security missions.

Saildrone, the world leader in providing near real-time maritime intelligence using small uncrewed systems, announced today a new, mid-size class of uncrewed surface vehicles (USVs). The 33-foot (10 m) Voyager is specifically designed for near-shore ocean and lakebed mapping, and to meet the challenges of IUU (illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing), ISR (intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance), law enforcement and maritime safety, drug interdiction, and border and harbor security.

Saildrone's three USV models—the Voyager along with the 23-foot (7 m) Explorer and 65-foot (20 m) Surveyor—have been developed to balance mission payload flexibility and endurance. The Voyager's larger size, compared to the Explorer, allows for a more persistent datalink, increased power available for ocean mapping and ISR payloads, and versatile payload integration options.

The ocean mapping sensor suite includes multibeam sonar equipment capable of seafloor mapping of depths to 900 feet (300 m), and the ISR sensor suite includes a smart camera array, digital radar, and sub-surface passive acoustics. Primarily powered by wind and solar, the Voyager also features an electric propulsion alternative, useful for low-wind and near-shore operations.

"With our Voyager platform, Saildrone helps to eliminate maritime gaps above and below the ocean surface, reducing risk to mission and risk to force. We want to be a force-multiplier for our partners and allies when it comes to ISR capabilities," said Richard Jenkins, Saildrone founder and CEO.

To date, Saildrone has built 100 23-foot Explorer-class USVs at its headquarters in Alameda, CA. To meet the increasing demand for the new Voyager platform, Saildrone has elected to outsource the production of the wing, hull, and keel to composite specialists: Janicki Industries will manufacture the wing and keel in Washington, and Seemann Composites will manufacture the hull in Mississippi. Saildrone will continue to produce, install, and service internal components in Alameda.

"One of the truly exceptional aspects of working at a company like Saildrone is the fact that hardware and software engineering, manufacturing, mission operations, and G&A are all housed under one roof—in a former airplane hangar on a site known for aviation and naval innovation," said Saildrone COO Mark Cuyler. "But with the rapidly increasing demand for ocean data collection across the fleet, it is necessary to outsource some of our production. Saildrone is proud to work with great US-based companies like Janicki and Seemann, whose expertise in the marine composites industry will help us to more rapidly meet the demanding challenges of the world's oceans."

Saildrone has been conducting sea trials of the Voyager in the San Francisco Bay and offshore of California since late 2022, and the first operational maritime security and ocean mapping missions will begin this spring. The company is currently producing new Voyagers at a rate of one per week.

The data collection capabilities of Saildrone's autonomous vehicles have been proven in numerous operational missions, covering almost 1 million nautical miles from the Arctic to the Antarctic. The company looks forward to its continued and close partnership with the US Government and its allies in boosting maritime security around the globe.

Visit Saildrone at 2023 IPF, March 28-30, at the Baltimore Convention Center and at the Navy League's Sea Air Space 2023 at the Gaylord National Convention Center in National Harbor, MD.

Related Articles

Saildrone completes Alaska Ocean Mapping Mission
Surveying more than 45,000 square kilometers of previously unknown ocean floor Saildrone surveyed more than 45,000 square kilometers of previously unknown ocean floor around Alaska's Aleutian Islands and off the California coast to address ocean exploration gaps in remote areas. Posted on 9 Mar
Hacking the Anthropocene with Survivalist Robots
New mini-documentary from Freethink* Media's Hard Reset series Saildrone is thrilled to announce this new mini-documentary from Freethink* Media's Hard Reset series! Posted on 17 Dec 2022
Saildrone captures video inside Hurricane Fiona
NOAA and Saildrone are hurricane chasing with uncrewed wind-powered vehicles Today, Saildrone, Inc. and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) released video footage gathered by a Saildrone uncrewed surface vehicle (USV) from inside Hurricane Fiona, a Category 4 hurricane, barreling across the Atlantic Ocean. Posted on 23 Sep 2022
Ocean data has never been more important
Two ocean drones are collecting data in Gulf of Mexico to help monitor weather and climate change With life-threatening heat waves experienced around the globe and the hurricane season upon the US, access to ocean data has never been more critical. Posted on 25 Aug 2022
Saildrones launched in Lake Superior
To support $7B Great Lakes fishery North America's Great Lakes make up the world's largest freshwater system and are one of the most ecologically diverse ecosystems on Earth—home to nearly 139 native species of fish. Posted on 11 Aug 2022
Advancing ocean data collection in the Atlantic
SD 1079 spent 370 days at sea collecting CO2 data in a remote area of the Tropical Atlantic The data required to enable this is scarce due to the collection barriers—the high cost and the logistical challenges of traditional methods such as research ships and buoys. Posted on 10 Aug 2022
Sailing (back) into the eye of the hurricane
Saildrone and NOAA are launching seven wind-powered ocean drones to collect data inside hurricanes Saildrone and NOAA are launching seven wind-powered ocean drones to collect data inside hurricanes in the Tropical Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. Posted on 4 Aug 2022
HR ocean mapping protects coastal communities
Details about the coastal seafloor is essential to predicting destructive hurricane storm surges When Hurricane Katrina made landfall in Louisiana, it wasn't the wind that created one of the costliest natural disasters in history; the real damage and loss of life was caused by flooding due to Katrina's storm surge, which drowned the region for weeks. Posted on 20 Jul 2022
Richard Jenkins wins Albert A. Michelson Award
Recognizing outstanding achievement by industry innovators and leaders Since Saildrone's inception, we have worked tirelessly to provide high-resolution real-time data and intelligence from Earth's most remote oceans to customers around the world. Posted on 6 Apr 2022
A new era of hurricane observing and forecasting
NOAA and Saildrone send five autonomous vehicles into the Tropical Atlantic The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and Saildrone deployed five Saildrone Explorer uncrewed surface vehicles (USVs) to the Tropical Atlantic Ocean to gather data during the 2021 hurricane season. Posted on 17 Dec 2021
Henri-Lloyd 2022 December - SW FOOTERStoneways Marine 2021 - FOOTEROcean Safety 2021 - FOOTER