Sea drones for the Baltic: Sweden buys surveillance from Saildrone as a service

Sweden aims to strengthen maritime surveillance in the Baltic Sea with sea drones from the US company Saildrone. On behalf of the armed forces, the Swedish procurement agency FMV has concluded a framework contract for four sailing, unmanned surface vessels of the Saildrone Voyager type. They are to supply the navy with data around the clock.

Sweden is not buying the vehicles themselves. It obtains the surveillance as a service, and that is what sets the model apart. FMV project manager Johan Wahren describes it as follows: “What is new about this contract is that we can call off surveillance as a service, which means that you buy data and not the equipment.”

The ten-metre sailing vessels are driven mainly by the wind. Solar panels supply power for the electronics, and there is also a small engine with a fuel tank on board. Within their mission the drones act autonomously, while company staff monitor them continuously.

How the sea drones add to the navy's maritime picture

Using sensors including a camera and radar, the systems detect movements in the Baltic Sea. This information feeds into the navy's situational picture. Detected ships can be checked against their AIS transponder data, and if a vessel has transmitted a false position, the systems can confirm its actual position.

Wahren puts the contract into context: “Basically, this is not about four unmanned vehicles but about access to persistent intelligence gathering at sea. So we are buying the service of persistent maritime surveillance, and Saildrone provides the vehicles that deliver data to the navy.” The navy assigns tasks to Saildrone, and it also receives the information from the unmanned surface vessels around the clock.

For now, the contract runs for one year and covers four Saildrone Voyagers. Further vessels can, however, be added.

Nordefco framework and contribution to NATO

The contract was concluded within Nordefco, the Nordic defence cooperation. This allows other Nordic countries to make their own arrangements if required. The vehicles also contribute to the NATO initiative Task Force X Baltic, which is intended to speed up the development of unmanned maritime surveillance in the Baltic Sea.

This initiative is part of Operation Baltic Sentry. Launched after several cable breaks in 2024 and 2025, the operation is intended to improve surveillance and better protect critical undersea infrastructure in the Baltic region. The vessels have been supporting the maritime surveillance capability of the Swedish Navy since October 2026.

The Nordefco defence cooperation framework was started in 2009 and involves Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Iceland and Norway. It is intended to strengthen defence capability, produce joint solutions and improve the ability to act together in crises in the region.