Navy renews Saildrone’s counter-drug mission in the Caribbean, Eastern Pacific

WASHINGTON — Maritime drone manufacturer Saildrone has received a new task order from the Navy worth $16.3 million to continue their operations in the US Southern Command region into next year, firm representatives told Breaking Defense today. 

Saildrone has deployed its Voyager unmanned surface vessels (USVs) to SOUTHCOM dating back to 2023 to support the command’s Joint Interagency Task Force South, which helps detect and monitor narco-traffickers in the region. For example, a Voyager was the type of USV cited in a US Navy press release as having played a pivotal role tracking and identifying a suspicious vessel in the Caribbean in October 2025, according to the firm and the service. US forces eventually interdicted the ship and seized roughly $81 million of cocaine, the Navy said.

Saildrone announced in February 2025 that 20 Voyagers were at sea supporting the Navy in the region. It was not immediately clear if that number will change with the task order extension, which will keep Voyager USVs operating in the Caribbean and the Eastern Pacific into 2027, according to Saildrone. 

“The continuity of Saildrone’s presence along the southern border for nearly three years demonstrates the strategic value we bring as the world’s most experienced operators of unmanned surface vehicles,” John Mustin, Saildrone president and the former chief of the Navy Reserve, said in a statement. “Our unmatched ability to remain on station and on mission in critical regions for months at a time is why our fleet serves as a powerful deterrent to bad actors.”

The task order extension comes as the Navy advances a “hedge strategy” that seeks “to adapt to dynamic adversaries by investing” in autonomous systems for “sea denial and global seabed control,” among other initiatives. The initiative aligns with the Navy’s efforts to introduce tailored force packages that fall outside the traditional carrier strike group model, customized for specific mission sets.

Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Daryl Caudle said in March that SOUTHCOM will likely serve as a “test bed” for the service’s strategy.

The Voyager USV, which Saildrone says can remain at sea for 100 days, is equipped to conduct intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance operations, as well as near-shore mapping and seabed surveys.

Saildrone has also teamed up with the Coast Guard, and the service announced in May that a total of 16 Voyagers would deploy to the Great Lakes to assist with border security operations, and to the North Atlantic to facilitate Coast Guard efforts countering illegal fishing.