Saildrone unveiled the Spectre at the Sea-Air-Space Exposition in National Harbor, Maryland today — a 52-meter, 250-tonne unmanned surface vessel designed for anti-submarine warfare, ISR, and strike operations, and the company’s largest and fastest platform to date.
Spectre comes in two variants: the Spectre Silent Endurance, which employs a Saildrone wing for extreme endurance and acoustically sensitive missions, and the Spectre Stealth Strike, which omits the wing for higher sprint speeds and a lower-profile configuration suited to kinetic strike roles.
The propulsion architecture reflects that dual-mission logic. Spectre runs twin shaftlines with dual electric and diesel propulsion, enabling near-silent electric operation up to 12 knots before engaging 5,000 horsepower of Caterpillar diesel engines for speeds up to 27 knots with a full 25,000 kg payload. Controllable-pitch propellers allow operators to manage acoustic signatures across the speed range — a critical requirement for towing thin-line towed arrays and variable-depth sonar systems.
The concealed payload deck accommodates dual 40-foot containers, up to five 20-foot containers, or mixed configurations, with a maximum payload capacity of over 70 tonnes. Working with Lockheed Martin — which made a $50 million investment in Saildrone last October — Saildrone has ensured Spectre design compatibility with payloads including the TB29 thin-line towed array, the Mk70 VLS launcher, and the CAPTAS-4 variable-depth sonar system from Thales/AAC. Spectre can carry two Mk70s.
The industrial team spans three partners. Spectre will be built in aluminum at Fincantieri’s Wisconsin shipyards, which can produce five vessels per year, with construction beginning shortly and sea trials planned for early 2027. The 43-meter composite wing will be manufactured by American Magic Services at its High Performance Center in Pensacola, Florida, also at a rate of five per year.
Performance has been validated at Force Technologies’ tow tank in Copenhagen using a 1/7th-scale model, and the design has received approval in principle from ABS under the High Speed Naval Craft class certification.
The unveiling comes as the Navy is moving quickly on unmanned surface procurement. The Navy announced a new MUSV marketplace in March, seeking production-ready platforms, with the first iteration closing last Friday. Saildrone CEO Richard Jenkins confirmed that the company submitted a Spectre proposal to compete. Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Daryl Caudle’s emerging “containerized capability campaign” — aimed at rapidly deploying modularized payloads such as missiles and drones — provides additional demand signal for a platform built around flexible, containerized payload bays.
“Spectre is not a craft hurriedly readied to meet a particular RFP, but diligently evolved over multiple years to meet the operational requirements of our customers and fill critical capability gaps in the ASW domain,” said Richard Jenkins, Saildrone founder and CEO.
