The expansion distributes production across three European countries, with each location supporting a different part of Saildrone’s growing USV portfolio. Van Der Valk Shipyard in the Netherlands will build the first 52-metre Saildrone Spectre, Umoe Mandal in Norway will manufacture the next generation of the 20-metre Surveyor, and Southern Spars will produce Surveyor wings in Poland.
“We are proud to announce not one, but three large construction projects. The first 52-meter 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,” said Richard Jenkins, Saildrone founder and CEO.
“Our EU Headquarters in Copenhagen will facilitate business development, maintenance operations, and piloting activities throughout our European operations.” Saildrone said the combined investments will establish local capacity to build, deploy, operate and sustain unmanned vessels for European customers.
The Copenhagen headquarters provides a permanent operational base for Northern Europe and will support mission management, vehicle assembly and servicing, technical operations and remote piloting. The company plans to build local teams capable of deploying and supporting Saildrone vessels directly from Denmark.
“Saildrone USVs have helped governments around the world to improve maritime domain awareness, counter drug trafficking, migrant crossings, and illegal fishing, and protect critical marine infrastructure. We are pleased to bring that proven capability to our European partners facing many of the same challenges,” said Robert Kleist, managing director of Saildrone Europe.
“Bringing Saildrone manufacturing and operations to Europe creates an enduring sovereign capability for our European customers.” The company is positioning local production and sustainment as a way to provide European operators with greater regional control over maritime surveillance capacity and long-term support.
The Copenhagen headquarters was formally opened on 17 August by Denmark’s Defence Industry Attaché, His Royal Highness Brigadier General Prince Joachim. The office is located at the historic Quintus Bastion in Holmen, a former headquarters of the Royal Danish Navy dating to the 17th century.
“It is fantastic to see Saildrone’s European headquarters located here in this historic naval site in Central Copenhagen,” Prince Joachim said at the opening ceremony. “Saildrone brings some of the latest maritime sensing technology to Denmark, which will certainly help protect our shared European waters against the many real threats we face today.”
Saildrone currently operates more than 70 unmanned surface vessels worldwide on continuous missions and offers four vehicle classes. Its portfolio ranges from the 7-metre Explorer and 10-metre Voyager to the 20-metre Surveyor and the new 52-metre Spectre.
The company established a European subsidiary in April 2025 following a $60 million funding round led by Denmark’s Export and Investment Fund, EIFO, and began operating in Danish waters two months later. Four Voyager USVs subsequently completed a six-month deployment supporting the Danish Ministry of Defence Acquisition and Logistics Organisation.
Saildrone said the four vessels achieved 92% fleet uptime despite difficult weather and sea conditions while detecting more than 170,000 unique contacts during the Danish deployment. The new European production network and Copenhagen operations centre will now provide a local industrial and operational base for further deployments across Europe.
