Saildrone USV Helped U.S. Navy Seize Over $81M in Cocaine

Published Aug 4, 09:48 AM UTC

Saildrone announced that one of its Voyager unmanned surface vehicles (USVs) directly enabled a U.S. Navy interdiction in October 2025 that seized over $81 million worth of cocaine. The disclosure came alongside news that the U.S. Navy awarded a $16.3 million task order extending the Voyager fleet's operations in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific. The USVs operate under Joint Interagency Task Force South and U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command (Fourth Fleet), patrolling waters near Panama, the Galapagos Islands, and southern maritime approaches to the U.S. since 2023. Saildrone President John Mustin, a retired Navy vice admiral, emphasized the strategic value of persistent unmanned presence as a deterrent and force multiplier, allowing crewed ships to focus on interdictions. The Voyager is a 10-meter long-dwell USV designed for persistent surface and subsurface surveillance, intelligence, reconnaissance, and near-shore mapping.