Coverage of the new Spectre unmanned surface vessel (USV) unveiled by Saildrone during Sea Air Space 2026. Naval News’ Ethan Gossrow interviewed Richard Jenkins, Saildrone’s founder and CEO. ===================== The new Spectre unmanned surface vessel (USV) is saildrone’s largest offering yet, standing in at 52 meters (~170 feet) in length, enabling the carriage of a multitude of payloads matching different mission sets. The Medium-size USV was unveiled during Sea Air Space 2026. Long lead time materials for the first two drones were ordered previously in Octover of 2025, pertaining mostly to the unique 2 shaft diesel/electric propulsion, which enables the Spectre to obtain ultra-quiet propulsion at speeds up to 12 knots. Top speeds of up to 27 knots are achieved with over 5,000 total horsepower of Caterpiller diesel engines, making the Spectre Saildrone’s fastest USV to date. Spectre i

Source: Saildrone: New Spectre USV at Sea Air Space 2026