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Time of India
17-06-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Danish military using robotic sailboats for surveillance in Baltic and North seas
Danish military using robotic sailboats for surveillance in Baltic and North seas(AP Photos) From a distance they look almost like ordinary sailboats, their sails emblazoned with the red-and-white flag of Denmark. But these 10-meter (30-foot) -long vessels carry no crew and are designed for surveillance. Four uncrewed robotic sailboats, known as "Voyagers," have been put into service by Denmark's armed forces for a three-month operational trial. Built by Alameda, California-based company Saildrone, the vessels will patrol Danish and NATO waters in the Baltic and North Seas, where maritime tensions and suspected sabotage have escalated sharply since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022. Two of the Voyagers launched Monday from Koge Marina, about 40 kilometers (25 miles) south of the Danish capital, Copenhagen. Powered by wind and solar energy, these sea drones can operate autonomously for months at sea. Saildrone says the vessels carry advanced sensor suites - radar, infrared and optical cameras, sonar and acoustic monitoring. Their launch comes after two others already joined a NATO patrol on June 6. Saildrone founder and CEO Richard Jenkins compared the vessels to a "truck" that carries sensors and uses machine learning and artificial intelligence to give a "full picture of what's above and below the surface" to about 20 to 30 miles (30 to 50 kilometers) in the open ocean. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Play Chess on Your PC, Free Play Classic Chess Install Now Undo He said that maritime threats like damage to undersea cables, illegal fishing and the smuggling of people, weapons and drugs are going undetected simply because "no one's observing it." Saildrone, he said, is "going to places ... where we previously didn't have eyes and ears." The Danish Defense Ministry says the trial is aimed at boosting surveillance capacity in under-monitored waters, especially around critical undersea infrastructure such as fiber-optic cables and power lines. "The security situation in the Baltic is tense," said Lt. Gen. Kim Jorgensen, the director of Danish National Armaments at the ministry. "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. And then they'll move from area to area within the Danish waters." The trial comes as NATO confronts a wave of damage to maritime infrastructure - including the 2022 Nord Stream pipeline explosions and the rupture of at least 11 undersea cables since late 2023. The most recent incident, in January, severed a fiber-optic link between Latvia and Sweden's Gotland island. The trial also unfolds against a backdrop of trans-Atlantic friction - with U.S. President Donald Trump's administration threatening to seize Greenland, a semiautonomous territory belonging to Denmark, a NATO member. Trump has said he wouldn't rule out military force to take Greenland. Jenkins, the founder of Saildrone, noted that his company had already planned to open its operation in Denmark before Trump was reelected. He didn't want to comment on the Greenland matter, insisting the company isn't political. Some of the maritime disruptions have been blamed on Russia's so-called shadow fleet - aging oil tankers operating under opaque ownership to avoid sanctions. One such vessel, the Eagle S, was seized by Finnish police in December for allegedly damaging a power cable between Finland and Estonia with its anchor. Western officials accuse Russia of behind behind a string of hybrid war attacks on land and at sea. Amid these concerns, NATO is moving to build a layered maritime surveillance system combining uncrewed surface vehicles like the Voyagers with traditional naval ships, satellites and seabed sensors. "The challenge is that you basically need to be on the water all the time, and it's humongously expensive," said Peter Viggo Jakobsen of the Royal Danish Defense College. "It's simply too expensive for us to have a warship trailing every single Russian ship, be it a warship or a civilian freighter of some kind." "We're trying to put together a layered system that will enable us to keep constant monitoring of potential threats, but at a much cheaper level than before," he added.
The Sun
17-06-2025
- Politics
- The Sun
Denmark deploys marine drones in Baltic and North seas
KØGE: Denmark on Monday deployed two unmanned ships, developed by US company Saildrone, to bolster surveillance in the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, Danish officials and the firm said. Two other drones were launched last week and are participating in the NATO mission Task Force X. These unmanned ships, which will be tested for three months by the Danish navy, are on 'surveillance missions,' Kim Jorgensen, Danish National Armaments Director, told AFP. 'They will do it in the Baltic, they will do it in the North Sea, and they will do it in other Danish internal waters,' he said. 'Some of our waters are quite busy, so I'm quite eager to see how this will work with an unmanned vessel.' The Baltic Sea, which can only be accessed through the Danish straits, accounts for over eight percent of global maritime traffic according to data from France's ISEMAR institute of maritime economics. Tensions over the Baltic Sea have heightened since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Several undersea Baltic cables were damaged last year, with many experts calling it part of a 'hybrid war' carried out by Russia against Western countries. The unmanned ships -- called Voyagers -- are 10 meters (33 feet) long and can autonomously navigate for three months. The sensors equipped on them can scan down to a depth of 300 meters. They are manufactured and operated by Saildrone, a company that works with the US navy. 'These vehicles are set up to deliver maritime domain awareness. So think about your eyes and ears above and below the surface, seeing things that we previously had no insight into,' Richard Jenkins, founder and CEO of Saildrone, said. 'There are many nefarious things that happen in our oceans, from smuggling -- smuggling of people, smuggling of weapons, smuggling of narcotics -- to nefarious damage, so undersea cables, undersea pipelines, and illegal fishing,' he added. 'Things that we need to monitor and monitor closely, we can't currently do that,' Jenkins said, noting there was not enough manned ships to cover the oceans.
Sharjah 24
16-06-2025
- Sharjah 24
Denmark deploys marine drones in Baltic and North Seas
Part of NATO mission and ongoing trials Two other drones were launched last week as part of NATO's Task Force X mission. The newly deployed vessels will undergo a three-month testing period by the Danish Navy. 'These unmanned ships are on surveillance missions,' said Kim Jorgensen, Danish National Armaments Director. 'They will do it in the Baltic, they will do it in the North Sea, and they will do it in other Danish internal waters.' He noted the challenges posed by Denmark's busy waterways and expressed interest in how unmanned vessels will perform under such conditions. Strategic importance of the Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea, accessible only through the Danish straits, handles over 8% of global maritime traffic, according to France's ISEMAR institute of maritime economics. Since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, tensions in the region have increased, with several undersea cables damaged last year—acts many experts consider part of a broader "hybrid war" waged by Russia. Advanced capabilities of Saildrone Voyagers The unmanned vessels, known as Voyagers , are 10 meters (33 feet) long and can autonomously navigate for up to three months. They are equipped with sensors capable of scanning to depths of 300 meters. Manufactured and operated by Saildrone, a company that also works with the U.S. Navy, these vessels are designed to significantly improve maritime domain awareness. Addressing underwater threats and illicit activities 'These vehicles are set up to deliver maritime domain awareness—your eyes and ears above and below the surface,' said Richard Jenkins, founder and CEO of Saildrone. 'They allow us to see things we previously had no insight into.' Jenkins emphasized the importance of monitoring the ocean for illegal activities such as human, weapons, and drug smuggling, as well as damage to undersea infrastructure and illegal fishing. 'We can't currently monitor all this effectively due to a shortage of manned ships,' he added.
