Saildrone says one of its Voyager unmanned surface vehicles directly enabled a U.S. Navy interdiction that seized more than $81 million of cocaine, as the Navy awards a $16.3 million task order extending the fleet’s time on station.
The company disclosed both in a blog published on 4 August. The interdiction itself took place in October 2025, and is being publicised now alongside the new award rather than at the time.
The task order extends operations of the Voyager fleet in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific in support of the U.S. Navy’s counter-narcotics and counter-illicit trafficking work. The vehicles operate under Joint Interagency Task Force South and US Naval Forces Southern Command, also known as US Navy Fourth Fleet, and have been in the region since 2023, patrolling waters near Panama, the Galapagos Islands and the southern maritime approaches to the United States.
Saildrone describes the Voyager involved as the only unmanned surface vehicle to have operated continuously in support of Fourth Fleet since 2023, and presents the seizure as evidence that the capability is “not theoretical”. The company’s pitch rests on endurance: USVs able to stay on station for months at a time act as both a deterrent and an alarm, freeing crewed ships for the interdiction itself, which is where the company argues manned assets are most valuable.
Saildrone President John Mustin, a retired US Navy vice admiral, said:
“The continuity of Saildrone’s presence along the southern border for nearly three years demonstrates the strategic value we bring as the world’s most experienced operators of unmanned surface vehicles. Our unmatched ability to remain on station and on mission in critical regions for months at a time is why our fleet serves as a powerful deterrent to bad actors. We look forward to continuing to partner with the Navy in its mission to secure the country’s maritime approaches and southern border.”
The company also points to its integration with Fourth Fleet operators and watchstanders over that period, describing an operational environment in which crewed and uncrewed forces work together to maintain persistent maritime domain awareness.
The Voyager is a 10 metre, or 33 foot, long-dwell unmanned surface vehicle built for persistent surface and subsurface surveillance. Beyond intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, Saildrone says it can carry out near-shore mapping and seafloor characterisation.
How cute.
Now build a bunch of Saildrone Spectre, the coolest USV ever designed.