NYNÄSHAMN, Sweden, — Sweden’s Armed Forces have partnered with maritime technology company Saildrone to provide continuous maritime surveillance across the Baltic Sea, including Sweden’s territorial waters and exclusive economic zone. The year-long mission involves four 10-metre Voyager unmanned surface vehicles (USVs) under the Nordic Defence Cooperation (NORDEFCO) framework.
The Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (FMV) signed the framework agreement on behalf of the Swedish Armed Forces. Each vessel is contracted to operate for 360 days, providing a total of 1,440 vehicle-days of surveillance. The agreement also allows additional vessels to be added. The vessels have supported Swedish naval surveillance since October 2026.
Surveillance as a Managed Service
Sweden is purchasing surveillance data as a managed service rather than buying the vessels. Saildrone maintains, deploys and tasks the USVs, while the Swedish Navy defines mission requirements and receives data continuously.
“This is fundamentally not about four unmanned vessels, but about access to sustained intelligence collection at sea,” said Johan Wahren, project manager at FMV.
The Voyager vessels use wind, solar and backup diesel power and carry cameras, radar and other sensors to detect and track ships, including those not transmitting Automatic Identification System (AIS) signals. Sensor data can be compared with AIS transmissions to check vessel identities and positions. The vehicles also have loudspeakers to issue warnings to approaching craft. Saildrone personnel monitor the vessels while the Navy assigns tasks and receives information around the clock.
First NORDEFCO Deployment and NATO Support
The deployment is the first national use of Saildrone USVs under NORDEFCO, which supports defence cooperation among Nordic countries, including Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. The framework allows participating nations to access maritime surveillance services while defining their own missions, with further national deployments expected.
The fleet will also support NATO’s Task Force X Baltic, which emerged from Operation Baltic Sentry to improve maritime surveillance and protect critical underwater infrastructure following subsea cable incidents in 2024 and 2025. Around 4,500 vessels travel through the Baltic Sea daily, increasing the importance of maritime situational awareness.
Deployment and Previous Operational Results
At an FMV media day on October 22, 2026, in Nynäshamn, Sweden’s Defence Minister Pål Jonson, Saildrone European Managing Director Robert Kleist, Justice Minister Gunnar Strömmer and Swedish Navy operations chief Commander Paula Wallenburg attended the presentation. Three USVs were already operating in the Baltic Sea, and the fourth was dispatched during the event.
During a previous six-month mission supporting the Royal Danish Navy, four Voyager USVs achieved 92% fleet uptime, travelled more than 20,000 nautical miles and detected over 170,000 unique vessels.
Saildrone has established its European headquarters in Copenhagen and registered four Voyager USVs under the Danish national flag. The company plans to register additional vessels in the coming weeks, establishing a flag-state framework for international operations. It has also conducted missions in the High North, Southern Ocean and Middle East, providing maritime surveillance services to navies and law enforcement agencies.
The Swedish deployment is intended to maintain continuous monitoring of Baltic Sea traffic while freeing crewed naval ships for other operations and supporting regional maritime security.
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