Navy League 2026: Saildrone releases design of new Spectre USV

Saildrone has released design for its new Spectre USV, shown here in winged and wingless configurations. (Saildrone)

Unmanned surface vessel (USV) manufacturer Saildrone released design details of its new USV Spectre, which is optimised for antisubmarine warfare (ASW) and has two variants. The design was showcased on 20 April at the Navy League Sea Air Space 2026 maritime exposition.

Spectre is 52 m (170 feet) long, weighs 250 tonnes, and can reach 30 kt, Saildrone said in a statement.

A new wing system for the Spectre Silent Endurance variant provides “an ultra-quiet acoustic signature” desired for ASW operations, according to Saildrone.

Another Spectre variant, Stealth Strike, is designed to operate without the wing for “kinetic strike” roles, which require higher sprint speeds and low-profile stealth operations, the company said.

Spectre meets no specific request-for-proposal demands, but is designed to meet operational requirements “and fill critical capability gaps in the ASW domain”, Richard Jenkins, Saildrone's founder and CEO, said in the statement.

Like the Saildrone Voyager and Surveyor USVs, Spectre leverages wind, solar, and diesel propulsion, the company noted.

Spectre also runs twin shaftlines with dual electric and diesel propulsion, designed to enable quieter electric propulsion up to 12 kt. It can tap its 5,000 hp Caterpillar diesel engine power to propel the vessel up to 27 k with full fuel and a 25,000 kg payload.

Carrying a 25,000 kg payload and cruising at 25 kt, Spectre has a range of 3,280 n miles in flat water and a range of 2,790 n miles in Sea State 4 head sea, Saildrone said.

The USV also features controllable-pitch propellers mean to enable quieter slow-speed operations for tow bodies such as thin-line towed arrays and variable-depth sonar systems, Saildrone said.