US President Donald Trump was already known for his tough approach on the border with Mexico during his first term of office from 2017 to 2021. Shortly after the start of his new term of office, he declared a state of emergency at the border this year. Accordingly, he deployed the military to America's southern border and ordered the US Army to monitor it. To this end, the sea route is also to be monitored more closely. The US Navy is therefore deploying 20 naval drones to patrol the coast unmanned. Two "Voyager" boats are to be deployed in the Caribbean Sea, where the border guards want to counteract drug smuggling in particular.
The sailing drones used are supplied by the US Navy company Saildrone. They are ten metres long and equipped with radar to better monitor the waters off the coast, which is several thousand kilometres long. The sailing drones are not armed and are maintained by the armed forces on land. They are delivered in military camouflage colours and have a solar cell on board. Thanks to the sensors and radar systems of the sailing "yachts", they will be able to recognise and track suspicious activities and ships and transmit information to the coastguard in real time.
The Saildrone company
Saildrone does not only produce sailing drones for military purposes. Rather, they have been known for years for the production of unmanned sailing drones that travel on the water in the service of science. There are unmanned drones that measure various marine parameters as well as those that are used for marine mapping. The American company is based in Alameda, California.
YACHT readers have also encountered sailing drones
Back in July 2024, our editorial team received news of the sighting of an unmanned sailing drone. YACHT reader Bernd Neumann spotted the two-metre-long vessel on a crossing to Sweden. The "Sailbuoy" was drifting in the area of the Kriegers Flak wind farm and was used to observe the sea. It is equipped with a large number of sensors that continuously measure important environmental parameters such as wind speed and direction, air temperature and pressure, wave height and period, water temperature and salinity. The task of the drone sighted by Neumann is to measure the impact of the wind turbines in a four-kilometre corridor in which it moves.
The "Sailbouy" is unable to avoid other participants at sea. Marcus Melin from the Voice of the Ocean Foundation therefore appeals to sailors: "Ships should try to stay away from the drone, especially yachts and pleasure craft. Also, no one should interact with the scientific platform in any way. However, there is nothing wrong with taking photos from a respectful distance; in fact, we would love to see the Sailbuoy in action."
