Saildrone Completes Missile Launch Test Aboard its Sail-Powered Surveyor

Saildrone Hellfire launch — Courtesy Saildrone

California-based USV builder Saildrone says that it successfully test-fired small missiles from its larger Surveyor sail-powered drone platform during the Rim of the Pacific 2026 exercise, adding to the Navy's list of unmanned-vessel live fire tests.

Last year, Saildrone secured a $50 million investment from Lockheed Martin and launched a partnership to expand the mission set for its portfolio. Their first public project was to install a twin-pack launcher for Lockheed's Joint Air-to-Ground Missile (JAGM) on the deck of a Saildrone Surveyor, adding lethality to the long-endurance USV platform for the first time.

JAGM is a successor to Hellfire, the ubiquitous antitank missile found throughout the U.S. armed forces' smaller platforms. The new missile has a range of about 18 kilometers, fire-and-forget capability, and a navalized variant with a near-infrared seeker mode and an extended range. The production run for JAGM will likely run into tens of thousands of units across the service branches, making it a widely-available option for installation across multiple weapons platforms.

Saildrone test-launched two JAGMs from a modified Surveyor USV during RIMPAC, operating under the sponsorship of the US Navy Fleet Experimentation Program (FLEX). The Surveyor used target data from another craft to guide the launch, Saildrone said.

????@Saildrone and @LockheedMartin executed the first-ever missile launch from a USV during the US Navy's RIMPAC exercise.

????The Surveyor USV successfully fired two JAGMs in coordination with a Carrier Strike Group.

????https://t.co/xflimeqgiZ pic.twitter.com/b3yjNy2COI
— Defensehere (@defensehere_en) August 20, 2026

Next up, Saildrone is working on a far larger USV sized appropriately to compete for the Navy's Medium Unmanned Surface Vessel (MUSV) program, which has recently undergone restructuring. The future Saildrone Spectre is a 170-foot, 300-tonne vessel with room for two 40-foot containerized payloads. Saildrone's entry is unique in offering both sail-powered and motor-powered variants, optimized for either silent running for ASW or a reduced profile for strike missions (respectively).

"Lockheed Martin and Saildrone are leading the way to act differently and leverage the strength of the entire industry for our national defense. We will continue to invest in new capabilities ahead of need to accelerate and de-risk deployment of urgently needed defense technologies," said Paul Lemmo, VP of Sensors, Effectors and Mission Systems at Lockheed Martin.