Saildrone confirmed it has contributed 20 Saildrone Voyage Unmanned Surface Vehicle (USV) to support a recently announced U.S. 4th Fleet anti-drug trafficking mission in the Caribbean Sea.
The company said this is a doubling of its previous contribution of Voyager USVs deployed in the region, now with a “newly upgraded sensor suite” to help monitor illegal activity in southern maritime approaches of the U.S.
On Jan. 27, 4th Fleet’s Hybrid Fleet Director Cmdr. Foster Edwards announced Operation Southern Spear would “operationalize a heterogeneous mix of Robotic and Autonomous Systems (RAS) to support the detection and monitoring of illicit trafficking while learning lessons for other theaters.”
The operation is billed as an expansion of the previous Operation Windward Stack, which Saildrone also participated in throughout 2024.
Edwards said this operation will continue the fleet’s shift from short-duration to long-duration operations with robotic and autonomous systems.
The Navy added this shows how the 4th Fleet is focused on shifting from short-duration experiments to long-duration operations of robotic surface vessels, small robotic interceptor boats, and vertical take-off and landing air vehicles.
These operations will also “help develop critical techniques and procedures in integrating RAS into the maritime environment,” Edwards continued.
The company boasted its vehicles not only increase maritime domain awareness of choke points in people and narcotics traffickers, detect suspicious vessels, track them, and relay intelligence for a common operating picture but even deter activity by mere visible presence.
“The mere presence of the Saildrone fleet shows traffickers that our law enforcement is fully aware of key maritime corridors. The knowledge that U.S. forces can monitor and respond to their activities will discourage smugglers from approaching the border,” Saildrone said.
The Navy added the results from Operation Southern Spear “will help determine combinations of unmanned vehicles and manned forces needed to provide coordinated maritime domain awareness and conduct counternarcotics operations.”