Special report: Euroguard production design to diverge from demonstrator

Computer-generated image of Baltic Workboats' 45 m Euroguard modular semi-autonomous surface vessel demonstrator at sea with an Estonian flag at the stern. (Baltic Workboats)

A production Euroguard semi-autonomous surface vessel is likely to be larger and structurally different from the demonstrator, Baltic Workboats' (BWB) CFO and programme co-ordinator Ahto Pärl told Janes on 25 September 2026.

Pärl expects prospective customers to favour a production vessel more than 60 m long, compared with the demonstrator's 45 m. The additional length could create more room for payload, future sensors, weapons, and mission systems.

He also expects customers to use a steel and aluminium hull instead of the demonstrator's all-aluminium construction. Steel could add structural weight and affect the share of displacement available for payload, while offering greater toughness and abrasion resistance.

The anticipated changes bring the production concept's central trade-off into focus: providing sufficient space, payload, structural resilience, and capacity for future systems without eroding the concept's intended affordability and versatility.

Together, these changes would make the production vessel more than a scaled-up demonstrator. They could bring additional capability and resilience, but would also increase demands on the design, construction model, and infrastructure. Whether the concept can retain its intended affordability and versatility will depend on how those trade-offs are resolved.

Euroguard is a EUR95 million (USD106.3 million) European Defence Fund programme, with EUR65 million provided by the European Commission, to develop a modular semi-autonomous surface vessel (MSASV) for multiple missions. Co-ordinated by BWB, it brings together 28 organisations from Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain and Sweden.

Euroguard demonstrator specificationsLength45 mBeam9.4 mDraught (max)3 m Speed(minimum) 20 ktPropulsionHybridRange(minimum) 2,000 n milesEndurance10 days at seaDisplacement(maximum) 335 tonnesPayloadUp to 100 tonnesBaltic Workboats