The U.S. Coast Guard’s Great Lakes District is deploying autonomous Saildrone vessels across the Great Lakes from May through October to enhance maritime domain awareness and support search and rescue, border security and environmental monitoring efforts.
Powered by wind and solar energy, the uncrewed vessels can remain on the water for extended periods while collecting real-time data. Equipped with radar, cameras, AIS tracking and collision-avoidance artificial intelligence, the highly visible drones help monitor vessel traffic, identify boats in distress and detect potential illegal activity. Human operators oversee the vessels around the clock and can take manual control if needed. Coast Guard officials say the Saildrones will supplement — not replace — crewed operations by providing valuable weather, traffic and situational-awareness data across the vast Great Lakes region.
navy chief officer roland franklin
