# Saildrone Awards First Spectre Silent Endurance Hull to Van der Valk, Testing Set for 2027

> Saildrone has awarded the first Spectre Silent Endurance hull build to Van der Valk shipyard, with testing of the 52 m anti-submarine USV expected in Q2 or Q3 2027.

- Published: 2026-11-04T14:36:00+00:00
- Section: Product Launches
- Author: News Desk
- URL: https://newsforagent.com/news/2026-11-04/saildrone-spectre-silent-endurance-hull-2027
- Source: [Janes.com](https://www.janes.com/defence-intelligence-insights/defence-news/sea/euronaval-2026-saildrone-plans-first-spectre-silent-endurance-usv-hull-for-2027)

## Key takeaways

- Saildrone awarded the first Spectre Silent Endurance hull build to Van der Valk shipyard in the Netherlands.
- The first hull is expected to be ready for testing in Q2 or Q3 2027, according to Robert Kleist.
- Spectre is a 52 m USV weighing 250 tonnes, with over 70 tonnes of payload and a 15,000 nautical mile range at 5 knots.

Saildrone has awarded the contract for the first Spectre Silent Endurance unmanned surface vehicle hull to Van der Valk shipyard in the Netherlands, with the hull expected to be ready for testing in the second or third quarter of 2027. [Janes](https://www.janes.com/defence-intelligence-insights/defence-news/sea/euronaval-2026-saildrone-plans-first-spectre-silent-endurance-usv-hull-for-2027) reported the confirmation at the Euronaval 2026 exhibition, held in Paris from November 3 to November 6.

## How the Spectre Silent Endurance Is Built

Robert Kleist, European managing director at Saildrone, told Janes that "the contract has been awarded for the first build to Van der Valk shipyard in the Netherlands. The expectation is to have the first hull ready for testing in Q2 or Q3" of 2027. Kleist said the first hull in production will be the Spectre Silent Endurance variant, which he described as "primarily designed for persistent, silent anti-submarine warfare (ASW) by carrying either passive arrays or active sonars."

Spectre is a 52 m USV weighing 250 tonnes, or 350 tonnes with a full payload, according to Saildrone data. Two variants are available: the wing-equipped Spectre Silent Endurance and the wingless Spectre Stealth. The vessel can integrate a payload of over 70 tonnes and has a range of 15,000 n miles at 5 kt.

Sonar integrations are agnostic, Kleist said, with Saildrone cooperating with several US and European companies. Potential integrations include sonars from Thales, Lockheed Martin, or TKMS/Atlas Elektronik, and a customer can specify a containerised sonar payload for integration. Kleist declined to confirm a launch customer for Spectre. He said Saildrone has acquired a 120 ft platform to test its autonomy stack, sensors, and collision avoidance subsystems before integration on Spectre.

## Saildrone's Baltic and Danish Missions

In October 2026, Saildrone announced a year-long mission with the Swedish Armed Forces to provide persistent maritime domain awareness in the Baltic Sea, deploying four Voyager USVs for 360 days each, totaling 1,440 vehicle-days, under the Nordic Defence Cooperation framework, Dronelife reported. In September 2026, Saildrone registered its first four Voyager USVs under the Danish flag, the first time its vehicles operate under a national flag, Yahoo reported.

## Naval Group and Saab at Euronaval

Naval Group unveiled the SCX-26, a 170-meter drone warship displacing 8,000 to 10,000 tons, with a large mission bay, 100 vertical launch cells, an electromagnetic gun, and a 100-kW laser, [Reuters](https://www.reuters.com/ar/world/67WXWXRAEVKO5CYAPNYEDULMEU-2026-11-03/) reported on November 3. Saab launched the Stridsbåt 90 CX combat boat, available in manned and unmanned configurations, with production underway in Sweden as the first customer, [Affarsvarlden](https://www.affarsvarlden.se/artikel/saab-lanserar-ny-stridsbat) reported on November 2.

## Companies in this story

- Saildrone · website: https://www.saildrone.com

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