Saildrone Deploys Four Voyager USVs for Swedish Navy Baltic Sea Surveillance Mission

26 October 2026
Edited By: Ed Freeman

Saildrone has begun a year-long mission with the Swedish Armed Forces to deliver persistent maritime domain awareness across Sweden's territorial waters and exclusive economic zone in the Baltic Sea.

A Saildrone Voyager USV departs Nynäshamn, Sweden, for the Baltic Sea. (Credit: Saildrone)

The Baltic Sea is a vital maritime corridor connecting Northern Europe, with busy shipping routes and critical undersea infrastructure. Growing concerns about the security of this infrastructure have heightened the need for persistent maritime surveillance across the region.

Long-endurance unmanned surface vehicles (USVs) help address this challenge by enabling navies and law enforcement agencies to expand surveillance coverage in demanding maritime environments. Capable of operating for months at a time, these systems identify and track vessels, helping authorities detect potentially suspicious activity.

Under the agreement, Saildrone is deploying and operating four Voyager USVs for 360 days each, totaling 1,440 contracted vehicle-days of continuous maritime security operations. The mission gives the Swedish Navy a sustained view of maritime activity in Swedish waters, helping it identify and track potential threats.

“This is fundamentally not about four unmanned vessels, but about access to sustained intelligence collection at sea. In other words, we are purchasing a persistent maritime surveillance service, and Saildrone provides the vessels that supply the Navy with data,” said Johan Wahren, project manager at Sweden’s Defence Materiel Administration (FMV) in an FMV press release.

This mission marks the first national deployment of Saildrone USVs under the Nordic Defence Cooperation (NORDEFCO) framework. The framework supports defense cooperation across Northern Europe and enables participating nations to rapidly procure Saildrone maritime domain awareness services. Additional national deployments will follow.

“This mission reflects Sweden’s commitment to securing the Baltic Sea and highlights Saildrone’s growing operational presence across Northern Europe,” said Robert Kleist, Saildrone’s European managing director. “Sweden is investing in year-round maritime awareness as an operational capability. The NORDEFCO framework gives Nordic nations a common mechanism for accessing that capability while allowing each country to define and operate its own mission.”

Saildrone has supported defense and security missions in environments ranging from the High North and Southern Ocean to the Middle East. The company has begun registering Voyager USVs under the Danish flag, establishing a clear flag-state framework for its expanding European operations.

Four Saildrone Voyager USVs depart Denmark, home to Saildrone’s European headquarters and a growing base for operations supporting maritime security across Northern Europe.

Expanding the Swedish Navy’s Maritime Surveillance Capacity

The Swedish Navy maintains round-the-clock maritime surveillance within and beyond Sweden’s territorial waters. Its operating environment spans complex coastal archipelagos and the waters around Gotland, a strategically important island in the central Baltic Sea.

Ships, aircraft, and their crews must balance surveillance responsibilities with the need to respond to emerging threats. The Saildrone Voyager fleet complements these assets by continuously patrolling Swedish waters and delivering real-time maritime intelligence to the Swedish Armed Forces.

Pål Jonson, Sweden’s Minister for Defence, and Saildrone European Managing Director Robert Kleist at a media day hosted by the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (FMV), on October 22, 2026, in Nynäshamn, Sweden. (Credit: Saildrone)

Sweden’s deployment builds on its contributions to broader NATO efforts to strengthen maritime security in the region. Following subsea cable incidents in 2024 and 2025, NATO launched Operation Baltic Sentry to improve surveillance of critical underwater infrastructure. Task Force X Baltic emerged from that effort to accelerate the integration of unmanned systems into naval operations. In February 2026, Sweden joined seven other NATO allies in agreeing to cooperate on acquiring new technology-enabled maritime capabilities.

Saildrone has already demonstrated its ability to sustain maritime surveillance in the region. During a six-month mission supporting the Royal Danish Navy, four Voyagers achieved 92% fleet uptime, sailed more than 20,000 nautical miles, and detected over 170,000 unique vessels. Saildrone also established its European headquarters in Copenhagen earlier this year, part of an expansion supported by a 2025 financing round led by the Export and Investment Fund of Denmark (EIFO).

For Sweden, the mission reinforces its ability to protect national maritime interests and contribute to the collective security of the Baltic region. Taken together, Saildrone’s work with the Danish and Swedish navies reflects its expanding role in providing persistent maritime surveillance across Northern Europe.