Sailing drones: Efficient surveillance on the Baltic Sea - soon with weapons?
Morten Strauch
· 10.02.2026
Attacks and acts of sabotage against critical infrastructure in the Baltic Sea and North Sea increased noticeably in 2024 and 2025. Submarine cables and pipelines that supply European countries with resources and information were sometimes manipulated or damaged by unidentified actors. In response to the changed threat situation in the Baltic Sea, the Danish Navy tested four naval drones from the US provider Saildrone.
Sailing drones record over 170,000 ships
The figures from the six-month test phase speak for themselves: the small Saildrone fleet recorded more than 170,000 individual ships, covered over 20,000 nautical miles and achieved an uptime of 92 per cent - in all weather and sea conditions. In comparison, manned ships often only achieve an operational availability of around 30 per cent. This high level of efficiency is primarily due to the drones' good sailing characteristics: they support the diesel-electric propulsion system so effectively that almost unlimited range and endurance are possible.
Sailing eyes on all seas
The sailing drones used in the Baltic Sea can also recognise and classify ships with deactivated AIS (Automatic Identification System) in real time. To do this, they use a combination of long-range radar, AIS tracking and on-board analytics, supplemented by infrared technology. The technology was previously trialled by the US Navy, which has been using such drones for several years to combat drug and people smuggling. According to the manufacturer, the systems have already travelled more than two million nautical miles worldwide under a wide variety of conditions.
Armed in the future?
Until now, the Saildrones were not only unmanned, but also unarmed. However, this is set to change soon. The US defence contractor Lockheed Martin had already announced its intention to invest 50 million dollars in maritime drone technology from Saildrone in 2025. This is not a reassuring thought: who wants their own boat to be watched by a robot ready to fire in the foreseeable future? Suspected drug smuggling boats in the Caribbean have already been attacked and sunk from the air without warning. In the Baltic Sea, however, this option is not envisaged for maritime drones.
Denmark and Sweden are planning to procure additional ships and submarines to further expand the monitoring and protection of underwater infrastructure and their territorial waters. Voyager maritime drones will support the armed forces by permanently monitoring selected areas and serving as an early warning system.
Channel 16 for making contact
Saildrone Denmarka newly founded European subsidiary, has its strategic headquarters in Copenhagen. The European missions are controlled and staffed by local engineers, pilots and regional safety experts. In serious situations, recreational skippers can radio the sailing drones via channel 16. How the systems then react - in the event of an imminent collision, for example - remains to be seen in practice. If in doubt, the approximately ten metre long marine drones should always be avoided, even if they are unarmed.
More articles on the topic "Safety in the Baltic Sea"
Morten Strauch
Editor News & Panorama
Morten Strauch was born in Schleswig in 1977, but grew up mainly in Lüneburg. He joined the Boy Scouts so that he could take part in a youth sailing camp in the Stockholm archipelago. After an internship at BOOTE magazine, he dropped out of his communications design studies, followed by 13 years as a freelance photographer and author for BOOTE, BOOTE Exclusiv and YACHT. In 2019, he was hired by Hanseyachts to serve as press spokesman and marketing manager. Consequently, the long-awaited first boat becomes a Hanse 291. Three and a half years later, he returns to Delius Klasing, this time as an editor for YACHT in the Panorama department. When not (also) privately on the water, Morten can be found scuba diving or collecting fossils on the coast.
