Saildrone and Umoe Mandal Agree to Build Surveyor USVs

Saildrone and Norwegian shipbuilder Umoe Mandal signed an agreement to produce unmanned surface vessels at the Euronaval defense show, company executives said. Umoe Mandal is expected to build the vessel for Saildrone’s 20-meter Surveyor, while Saildrone provides the autonomy, electronics, and navigation systems.

Key details

• Umoe Mandal has begun building a manufacturing site near its main plant for USV production.
• The shipbuilder’s chief executive said the site could support production of two vessels per month, with potential to expand.
• Saildrone opened a Copenhagen headquarters and agreed with Poland’s Southern Spars to produce Surveyor wings in Poland.
• Sweden began a year-long Baltic Sea maritime-surveillance mission in October using four Saildrone Voyager USVs under the NORDEFCO framework. The Swedish Armed Forces initiated the deployment, and Saildrone operates the vessels under the Swedish flag.

Umoe Mandal’s chief executive said its planned site could produce two vessels per month, with room to expand.

Why it matters

The arrangement assigns hull construction to a Norwegian shipbuilder and onboard autonomy and navigation systems to Saildrone. The companies’ European production plans also include Surveyor wings made in Poland.