A Robotic Navy Sets Sail to Secure the Southern Border

Upon taking office, President Trump declared a state of emergency at the US southern border, which has long been utilized by cartels and criminal gangs for drug and human trafficking. This was a decisive move, supported by an immediate surge of land operations and maritime forces southward, to reestablish American sovereignty and stop the massive flow of trafficking into the United States.

For the past two weeks, Customs and Border Protection personnel have worked to fortify ports of entry and wall up open stretches. On the water, the US Navy and Coast Guard have moved fleets of ships into place. These agencies are responsible for securing thousands of miles of coastline and open ocean, but assets are extremely limited, and there is too much water to cover.

Now, Saildrone is doubling its fleet of unmanned surface vehicles (USVs) in the Caribbean and the Pacific Ocean in support of Operation Southern Spear to detect and stem the flow of illegal drugs traveling through known maritime corridors into the United States. 

A record number of 20 high-endurance Saildrone Voyager USVs equipped with a newly upgraded sensor suite will monitor illegal activity along the United States’ southern maritime approaches, operating in support of Joint Interagency Task Force South (JIATF-S) and US Naval Forces Southern Command/US Navy Fourth Fleet (NAVSOUTH/FOURTHFLT).

“It’s an honor to support the US Navy and 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.”

Two Saildrone Voyager USVs are deployed to the Caribbean Sea in support of Operation Southern Spear.

The Saildrone Voyager is a 10-meter USV designed to support distributed maritime operations by monitoring critical areas, such as chokepoints, for illicit activity. Equipped with advanced sensors, radar, and communication systems, Saildrone USVs can detect suspicious vessels, track their movements, and relay near real-time intelligence into a common operating picture for action. Once a target is identified, Saildrone provides precise coordinates and other data, enabling the Coast Guard to interdict bad actors before they reach US waters or deliver their illicit cargo.

Cartel operatives exploit known gaps in maritime surveillance coverage. Saildrone USVs have proven capable of operating for months at a time, providing persistent blue water maritime domain awareness without the need for crew rotations or refueling stops. This allows navies and law enforcement to extend their operational reach without the need to commit additional personnel or resources to routine patrols. 

Saildrone USVs not only track assets on the water but also deter illegal activity. The mere presence of the Saildrone fleet shows traffickers that our law enforcement is fully aware of key maritime corridors. The knowledge that US forces can monitor and respond to their activities will discourage smugglers from approaching the border.

Scaling up the hybrid fleet

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.”

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. The 1.5-year mission showed that Saildrone USVs operate at a small fraction of the cost of a Coast Guard or Navy ship, allowing large-scale deployments of many ocean drones to patrol an AOR, closing the gaps in surveillance coverage the cartels have capitalized on repeatedly.

JIATF-S is a multi-agency, multi-service Department of Defense task force made up of Navy, Coast Guard, and CBP, as well as other US government agencies and twenty partner countries. Its mission is to counter narcotics operations, maritime security, and transnational organized crime in the Caribbean, Central, and South America. 

As global threats continue to consume resources, we must not forget about the threats of drug smuggling in our own hemisphere. Saildrone can bridge the gap by providing low-cost, scalable, and persistent capabilities to increase maritime domain awareness and increase the cost efficiency of manned assets that can focus their attention on interdiction rather than patrolling open water. With Saildrone USVs as a force multiplier, the US can enhance its maritime interdiction operations and maintain a strong deterrent against illegal drug trafficking along the southern border.

Unmanned surface vehicles represent a critical tool in the US government’s efforts to combat drug smuggling through maritime corridors. By extending the reach of the Navy, Coast Guard, and CBP, augmenting their capabilities and providing persistent surveillance, Saildrone enhances border security and helps protect US citizens from the harmful effects of drug trafficking. 

As the demand for increased border enforcement continues to grow, Saildrone is scaling up production and preparing to play a bigger role in securing America’s southern maritime border.

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