US Coast Guard ends its 2026 trial of six Saildrone Voyager boats on the Great Lakes

The US Coast Guard is ending its 2026 seasonal evaluation of six Saildrone Voyager uncrewed surface vessels on the Great Lakes this week, before winter ice is forecast to set in, the service said. It plans a further test and evaluation period in spring 2027.

The 33-foot vessels, powered by wind and solar energy, were deployed from April to November and sent Coast Guard command centres and boat stations real-time offshore weather data and operational information over thousands of square miles of open water, according to the Coast Guard. They measure wind speed, wave height, water temperature and air pressure for rescue crews, and help watchstanders and fisheries officers spot vessels in trouble and keep watch along the international border.

Each Voyager has an auxiliary 4 kW electric motor, marine radar, an AIS transceiver, weather instruments and an optical camera, and human operators in mission control centres across three time zones pilot them remotely around the clock. The Coast Guard said the cameras take periodic still photos rather than continuous video and do not use facial recognition.

Rear Adm. Russell Dash, commander of the Great Lakes District, said the deployment showed “how autonomous platforms support Coast Guard missions in a freshwater environment.”