Saildrone is expanding its European footprint, with multiple new manufacturing locations and operation centres. For example, the first European-built 52-metre Saildrone Spectre will be built at Van Der Valk Shipyard in the Netherlands.
The expansion also includes the official opening of Saildrone’s EU headquarters in Copenhagen. In addition to the project in the Netherlands there are two more separate European build contracts in Norway and Poland.
The new Copenhagen office and planned production in the Netherlands, Norway, and Poland build local European infrastructure to support strong product demand and facilitate the company’s ability to rapidly build, deploy, and support USVs throughout European waters.
‘We are proud to announce not one, but three large construction projects,’ says Richard Jenkins, Saildrone founder and CEO. ‘The first 52-metre Saildrone Spectre will be built at Van Der Valk Shipyard in the Netherlands; the next generation of the Saildrone Surveyor will be produced at Umoe Mandal in Norway; and Southern Spars will produce Surveyor wings in Poland. Our EU headquarters in Copenhagen will facilitate business development, maintenance operations, and piloting activities throughout our European operations.’
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Local capability
These significant investments establish extensive regional capacity to build, deploy, operate, and support Saildrone unmanned surface vehicles (USVs) for European customers.
The Copenhagen office provides a permanent base for operations in Northern Europe. New roles in Mission Management, Vehicle Assembly & Service, Technical Operations, and the Pilot Team will build local capability to deploy, operate, and support its USVs directly from Denmark. The office is located at the historic Quintus Bastion in Holmen, Copenhagen. Dating to the 17th century, the site once served as the headquarters of the Royal Danish Navy.
Also read: Saildrone demonstrates USVs for NATO
Saildrone USVs
Saildrone designs, builds, and operates unmanned surface vessels (USVs), with a fleet of over seventy such vessels globally deployed, operating 24/7/365. The company has four classes of USV, the 7-metre Explorer, the 10-metre Voyager, the 20-metre Surveyor, and the 52-metre Spectre.
Saildrone announced the establishment of a European subsidiary in April 2025. It received support from a USD 60 million funding round led by EIFO – the Export and Investment Fund of Denmark. The subsidiary began operating in Danish waters two months later. Four Voyager USVs supported the Danish Ministry of Defence Acquisition and Logistics Organisation (DALO), completing a six-month deployment with 92 per cent fleet uptime in harsh weather and sea states while detecting more than 170,000 unique contacts.
Also read: Saildrone lands USD 60M in funding to bring USVs to Europe
