Denmark deploys AI-powered Saildrone fleet in Baltic and North Seas to counter hybrid threats

In a bold move to reinforce maritime surveillance amid rising regional tensions, Denmark has launched four robotic sailboats to patrol NATO waters in the Baltic and North Seas. The uncrewed 10-meter vessels—dubbed “Voyagers”—are part of a three-month operational trial by the Danish armed forces and are being deployed in response to growing concerns over undersea sabotage, hybrid threats, and maritime blind spots following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The sailboats, which resemble traditional yachts at a distance, are powered by wind and solar energy and operate without a crew. Developed by California-based Saildrone, each vessel carries a sophisticated array of sensors including radar, optical and infrared cameras, sonar, and acoustic monitoring systems. These capabilities allow for autonomous operation across vast oceanic ranges, scanning both surface and sub-surface threats up to 50 kilometers away.

Two Voyagers were launched from Koge Marina—located 40 kilometers south of Copenhagen—on June 16, joining two others that had already been integrated into a NATO patrol group on June 6. The Voyagers’ mission spans Danish and NATO-aligned waters in one of the world’s most geopolitically sensitive maritime corridors.

What strategic maritime challenges are robotic sailboats addressing across the Baltic and North Seas?

The initiative is Denmark’s response to a series of maritime incidents that have heightened regional insecurity. Following the 2022 Nord Stream pipeline explosions, NATO and EU nations have documented at least 11 additional cases of undersea infrastructure damage—including a fiber-optic cable severed between Latvia and Sweden’s Gotland in January 2025. These events have raised alarm across the alliance over what many perceive as Russian hybrid tactics designed to disrupt strategic communications and energy supply lines.

One example often cited by Western officials is the seizure of the oil tanker Eagle S by Finnish police in December 2024. The vessel, believed to be part of Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet,” allegedly dragged its anchor across a key power cable between Finland and Estonia. The opaque ownership and flag-hopping practices of such vessels make them difficult to track and regulate under existing maritime law.

According to Saildrone CEO Richard Jenkins, the Voyagers serve as “sensor trucks” that combine machine learning and AI to deliver situational awareness where human surveillance assets fall short. “No one’s observing it,” Jenkins said of the vast unmonitored zones where trafficking, cable-tampering, and illegal fishing often go undetected.

How is Denmark integrating uncrewed Saildrone vessels into its naval and NATO surveillance strategy?

The Danish Ministry of Defence has tasked its Defence Command, the Royal Danish Navy, the Defence Acquisition and Logistics Organisation, and the Danish Defence Innovation Unit with overseeing the trial. The Voyagers are expected to rotate across various national and NATO zones, including areas with critical undersea infrastructure such as energy pipelines, communication cables, and offshore wind installations.

Lt. Gen. Kim Jørgensen, director of Danish National Armaments, described the operational logic of the trial as a cost-effective force multiplier. “They’re going to cruise Danish waters, and then later they’re going to join up with the two that are on the NATO exercise,” he explained. The aim is to improve situational awareness without relying exclusively on conventional naval assets, which are expensive to deploy continuously.

Defense analyst Peter Viggo Jakobsen of the Royal Danish Defence College added that robotic sailboats allow Denmark to “keep constant monitoring of potential threats, but at a much cheaper level than before.” He emphasized that the prohibitive cost of deploying crewed ships for every Russian or suspicious vessel is pushing NATO members to adopt layered, tech-enabled surveillance solutions.

What institutional and geopolitical context is shaping the deployment of autonomous maritime drones in Europe?

The robotic sailboat trial occurs amid broader transatlantic tensions and growing digitization of warfare. Denmark’s move coincides with NATO’s drive to integrate uncrewed surface vehicles (USVs), seabed sensors, satellites, and conventional naval ships into a unified surveillance network. The approach is designed to address both traditional state threats and asymmetric disruptions, including cyber intrusions and seabed sabotage.

This deployment also coincides with current geopolitical recalibrations under U.S. President Donald Trump, whose administration has revived a more unilateral posture in Arctic and High North security policy. The Trump White House has publicly emphasized the strategic value of Greenland and surrounding regions, reaffirming interest in expanding U.S. military presence in the North Atlantic. This includes surveillance cooperation with NATO allies and increased funding for Arctic operations, intended to counter both Russian and Chinese influence in the polar sphere. However, Trump’s earlier comments—suggesting that the United States might consider using military force to acquire Greenland, a semiautonomous territory governed by Denmark—continue to generate unease in diplomatic circles across Northern Europe. These remarks, though not followed by formal policy proposals, have complicated perceptions of transatlantic alignment, particularly within the Danish political establishment and the European Union at large.

Despite this backdrop of tension, Saildrone’s operational expansion into Denmark has been explicitly positioned as apolitical. Company founder and CEO Richard Jenkins has stated that Saildrone Denmark—formally launched in April 2025—was planned independently of any shifts in U.S. electoral outcomes or foreign policy signaling. The firm, headquartered in Alameda, California, maintains that its mission is centered on maritime safety, environmental monitoring, and defense innovation, not political positioning. Jenkins declined to comment on the Greenland controversy directly but emphasized that Saildrone’s role in Denmark aligns with regional NATO objectives and is based on longstanding defense partnerships, not short-term political currents.

Globally, Saildrone has logged over 1 million nautical miles with its robotic fleet and received uncrewed vessel classification from the American Bureau of Shipping. It also works with major defense contractors like Palantir and Thales to enable AI-driven battlefield awareness for maritime theaters.

What is the institutional and public sentiment toward unmanned maritime surveillance across NATO?

Among institutional stakeholders, the deployment has received strong backing as a scalable, low-cost defense solution. Danish defense officials see it as a pioneering step toward digital deterrence that enhances resilience across NATO’s northeastern flank. Public opinion in Denmark and much of Europe has largely supported the move, particularly amid growing awareness of critical seabed vulnerabilities and the challenges posed by gray-zone tactics.

NATO has stated that the future of maritime security will rely on persistent, autonomous systems integrated with legacy hardware. Denmark’s deployment is therefore seen as a test case that could shape alliance-wide procurement and strategic doctrine going forward.

Richard Jenkins, reiterating his company’s role in this vision, stated that Saildrone is now “going to places where we previously didn’t have eyes and ears.” For smaller nations with large maritime domains, that visibility could prove decisive.