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Location
Mayport, FL
A record number of 20 high-endurance Saildrone Voyager unmanned surface vehicles (USVs) equipped with a newly upgraded sensor suite are being deployed as part of Operation Southern Spear to monitor illegal activity in the Caribbean and Pacific Ocean. The Saildrone USVs will operate in support of Joint Interagency Task Force South (JIATF-South) and US Naval Forces Southern Command/US Navy Fourth Fleet (NAVSOUTH/FOURTHFLT) to detect and stem the flow of illegal drugs into the United States.
According to US Naval Forces Southern Command/US Navy Fourth Fleet director of innovation, Cmdr. Jon Williams, “Operation Southern Spear will advance the Navy’s Hybrid Fleet Campaign and Project 33 target to operationalize Robotic and Autonomous Systems (RAS). Long-dwell Unmanned Surface Vehicles that provide valuable intelligence, reconnaissance, and surveillance are a valuable asset in maritime domain awareness. In Operation Southern Spear, the fleet will continue to assess the full capabilities of RAS and how best to integrate them in US Navy and JIATF-S missions. The common maritime operational picture will allow our team the ability to monitor and support the detection and monitoring of illicit trafficking in our areas of operation.”
The Saildrone Voyager is a 10-meter USV designed to support distributed maritime operations by monitoring critical areas, such as chokepoints, for illicit activity. Saildrone will deploy 20 Voyagers for persistent blue water maritime domain awareness along the United States’ southern maritime approaches.
Saildrone’s Voyager fleet carries, amongst other sensors, high-powered radar and cameras capable of covering thousands of square miles every day. Saildrone USVs conduct long-range, long-endurance surveillance at a fraction of the cost of traditional crewed platforms.
Operation Southern Spear is an evolution and expansion of Operation Windward Stack, which was operated by the US Navy’s 4th fleet in the Caribbean throughout 2024. During Windward Stack, operators and watchstanders in 4th Fleet used Saildrone data to increase their maritime domain awareness in critical choke points, traditionally used for trafficking people and narcotics in the Caribbean.
“It’s an honor to support the US Navy and the Joint Interagency Task Force South in this critical border security mission,” said Richard Jenkins, Saildrone Founder and CEO. “As we increase the security on our Southern land border, criminal activity will naturally get pushed to our maritime borders. Saildrone is proud to serve, providing a persistent, unblinking eye in maritime areas too vast and remote to previously monitor.”
JIATF-S (Joint Interagency Task Force South) is a multi-agency, multi-service Department of Defense task force made up of US Navy, Coast Guard, and Customs and Border Protection, as well as other US government agencies and twenty partner countries. JIATF-S focuses on counter-narcotics operations, maritime security, and countering transnational organized crime in the Caribbean, Central, and South America.
The contract award is facilitated by DIU and includes 3,600 mission days, or 180 days per Voyager. Saildrone will deliver real-time data continuously via our Ocean API and the Saildrone Mission Portal, in near real time, directly to the JIATF-S watch floor.