Saildrone Unveils Spectre, a Larger Uncrewed Vessel Built for Anti-Submarine Missions

Lockheed Martin Joins as Mission Integrator

Saildrone is partnering with Lockheed Martin on the new vessel class. Paul Lemmo, a Lockheed Martin vice president and general manager, said the company is supporting mission autonomy as the mission integrator.

That relationship points to Spectre’s intended role as more than a remote-controlled vessel. The goal is to field an autonomous or highly automated platform that can operate as part of a broader naval system, adding more assets to the maritime battlespace without requiring a crew aboard every platform.

Lemmo described Spectre as a lower-priced way to put more players on the field. Saildrone said each vessel is priced at around $40 million, a figure that positions the platform below many traditional crewed naval assets while still representing a major defense system.

Certification, Shipbuilding, and Schedule

Saildrone said the design has received approval in principle from the American Bureau of Shipping, indicating compliance with High Speed Naval Craft class certification. The company also said two years of design and testing have de-risked the vessel’s design and performance.

Construction is expected to begin soon at Fincantieri shipyards in Wisconsin. According to the company, those facilities can manufacture five Spectre vessels per year. The first sea trials are planned for early 2027.

Why It Matters

Spectre reflects a broader defense trend toward uncrewed maritime systems that can extend naval reach, reduce risk to personnel, and add capacity in contested waters. Anti-submarine warfare has traditionally depended on expensive crewed ships, submarines, aircraft, sensors, and trained operators. A lower-cost uncrewed vessel could change how navies distribute sensing and tracking missions across the ocean.

The platform is still in the pre-trial stage, so its operational value will depend on how well it performs at sea, how reliable its autonomy proves to be, and how effectively it integrates with existing naval systems. But Saildrone’s move into a larger, faster, anti-submarine vessel shows that the uncrewed surface vessel market is moving beyond surveillance and ocean monitoring toward more specialized military roles.

This article is based on reporting by Defense News. Read the original article.