An interesting marine drone

This is one of the most interesting marine drones I have ever seen. It is the Saildrone company that for a few years has offered its marine drones to perform different data capture tasks at sea, and now they are looking for other new applications.

It is a 23 feet (7 m) long drone, built in fiberglass that navigates with a rigid sail (also made of fiber) and that also has solar panels to obtain electrical energy and power the on-board systems and a small propeller as an auxiliary navigation aid.

Below you can see a photo.

Some of these models have already traveled thousands of miles capturing data from the seas for more or less scientific programs in collaboration with various organizations.

One of its most interesting features is that it can run continuously (it does not need fuel) and the energy to power its on-board devices from the sun, and it is controlled via satellite both to emit and receive data.

In 2020, the North American Coast Guard service carried out exercises with 6 of these drones sailing to Hawaii, demonstrating their operability for long periods of time, and obtaining surveillance information throughout the period.

That operational flexibility makes it attractive for commercial or defense missions, and the US Navy is looking at providing it with the means to combat submarines.

In this case, the drone would be 72 feet (22 m.) and would have a larger sail and more solar panels to power the sonar system to locate the submarines.

We will see more and more drones operating without people and monitored remotely to perform all kinds of functions. For every problem there are one or more solutions and drones have a lot to contribute.