The American company Saildrone has announced its newest surface-based unmanned platform, Spectre. According to Marine Link, we are talking about a device up to 52 meters long and weighing 250 tons, which can reach speeds of up to 30 knots. The drone is designed to perform multi-purpose tasks both above and below water. The Spectre's design is designed from the ground up to provide long-lasting, covert, and time-consuming operations.
"The U.S. Navy is facing unprecedented challenges in maintaining maritime supremacy simultaneously in multiple regional hot spots," Saildrone says. – As global conflicts escalate, the fleet has to confront adversaries who are increasingly targeting strategically important waterways and critical underwater infrastructure. In addition, the protection of these vast waters requires a constant presence, which cannot be ensured by occasional patrols by traditional manned warships."
Spectre Unmanned Surface Platform
Saildrone
According to the developers, autonomous long-range platforms will provide a permanent presence to protect these theaters of military operations. They can be equipped with specialized payloads necessary to respond to threats. Unmanned surface vehicles will take on the burden of maintaining a permanent maritime presence, allowing the Navy to use its most valuable assets exclusively to perform complex tasks that only they are capable of.
"Spectre is the result of 25 years of continuous expansion of the boundaries of what is possible. A unique design based on real–world operational experience," said Richard Jenkins, founder and CEO of Saildrone. "We have been carefully improving the platform over the years to meet the operational requirements of our customers and fill critical gaps in anti–submarine defense capabilities."
Fincantieri Marinette Marine will build aluminum hulls for both versions of the Spectre drones at its shipyards in Wisconsin. The production facilities already allow us to produce up to five units of Spectre per year. Sea trials of the first vehicle are scheduled for early 2027.
The 43-meter-long composite sail will be manufactured by American Magic Services (AMS) at the High Achievement Center in Florida.
Saildrone is the first and so far the only company to receive an ABS class certificate, confirming the compliance of the designed drones with the requirements for high–speed naval vessels. The software for autonomous control has been improved over the more than ten-year history of Saildrone.
Like the company's two other surface drones, Voyager and Surveyor, the Spectre uses wind power, solar energy, and diesel propulsion to propel it.
Moving at a speed of 25 knots with a payload of 25 tons, the Spectre has an estimated range of 3,280 nautical miles in calm water and 2,790 nautical miles in rough seas of 4 points. Adjustable pitch propellers provide extremely efficient operation over the entire speed range, allowing acoustic performance to be controlled and virtually silent operation at low speeds for towing objects such as thin-hull towed antenna arrays and variable depth sonar systems.
A hidden deck provides space for cargo ranging from two 40–foot containers to five 20-foot containers; it is also possible to combine both types. The location close to the waterline makes it easy to unload cargo through the transom. The maximum load capacity of the Spectre will exceed 70 tons.
Lockheed Martin is currently collaborating with Saildrone on the integration of the AGM-179 JAGM guided missile launcher. Demonstration firing at a high-speed maneuvering surface target is scheduled for this summer.
Saildrone is also collaborating with Thales to integrate the CAPTAS-4 combined active-passive towed sonar.
