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Largest open catalog · USV · UUV · AUV

The world’s sea drones, from surface to seabed.

The most comprehensive open catalog of sea drones: surface and underwater platforms and the companies that build them, each with specifications and a cited source.

Platforms
253
Companies
109
Countries
25

Dataset v2.4

Latest news

All news
  1. AUVSubnero Acoustic Modems Supported in OceanScan MST's LAUV
  2. USVExail Launches Neptis Autonomous Maritime Surveillance System

Surface

Underwater

  • UUVMax Depth: 600 m

    REMUS 620

    HII · United States

  • ROVMax Depth: 1,000 m

    Mission Specialist Wraith

    VideoRay · United States

01Taxonomy

Classification

How the world’s maritime unmanned vehicles break down by class, domain, sector, and origin.

Select any figure to filter the catalog

Vehicle Classes

surfaceunderwater

Platform Domain

n = 253

Sector Breakdown

Countries of Origin

25 countries
02Similarity Network

How platforms relate

Every platform scored against every other across 13 dimensions — mission roles, class, size, depth, range, speed, endurance, autonomy and more. Each one links to its closest matches; communities emerge on their own.

Mapping the network

Hold Ctrl / ⌘ and scroll to zoom

03Live Tracker

Global Sea Drone Positions

Last known positions of tracked uncrewed surface vessels, from open AIS networks and NOAA satellite telemetry.

0 drones on the map
Loading map…
Fetching positions…
AIS networksNOAA satellite telemetryFaded: last fix over 48 h ago

Known Tracked MMSIs

8 tracked surface platforms in the database currently expose 12 public MMSIs.

ASV1 platform
China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC) · SD-S-098
1 MMSI
413343790
MUSV2 platforms
DARPA / U.S. Navy · SD-S-031
1 MMSI
368926574
DARPA / U.S. Navy · SD-S-030
1 MMSI
369970970
USV5 platforms
Maritime Robotics · SD-S-006
1 MMSI
257899800
Maritime Robotics · SD-S-004
1 MMSI
259013050
Saildrone · SD-S-027
2 MMSIs
338434847 338167878
Saildrone · SD-S-025
3 MMSIs
338179262 338432794 338432795
Saildrone · SD-S-026
2 MMSIs
338434815 338434837
04Full Catalog

All Platforms

Browse, search, and filter the complete database of maritime unmanned vehicles.

Domain
Sector

Loading platform index…

06Latest

News & Updates

Contracts, deployments, and combat use of unmanned maritime systems, cross-linked to every platform and company in the database.

Browse Full ArchiveRSS Feed

202 stories · Updated Oct 11, 2026

AUV

/Marine Technology News

Subnero Acoustic Modems Supported in OceanScan MST's LAUV

Subnero's smart acoustic modems are now natively supported in OceanScan MST's Light Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (LAUV) without any hardware or software modifications, enabling plug‑and‑play underwater communications.

Why it matters

Provides seamless, off‑the‑shelf acoustic networking for AUVs, boosting operational flexibility.

Read briefingSource

The Wire

Reference Notes

Maritime unmanned vehicle reference database

Sea Drone World indexes 253 maritime unmanned vehicles from 109 manufacturers across 25 countries.

The catalog covers 133 surface vehicles and 120 underwater vehicles, spanning civilian, military, and dual-use platforms.

Machine-readable data

  • llms.txt summarizes the site scope and citation guidance.
  • llms-full.txt exports the complete platform database as plain text.
  • JSON API supports search, filters, pagination, and compact records.

Top vehicle classes

  • USV: 114 platforms
  • AUV: 45 platforms
  • ROV: 31 platforms
  • UUV: 19 platforms
  • ASV: 11 platforms
  • MUSV: 8 platforms
  • Glider: 7 platforms
  • XLUUV: 6 platforms

Top countries of origin

  • United States: 99 platforms
  • China: 21 platforms
  • United Kingdom: 21 platforms
  • France: 19 platforms
  • Canada: 15 platforms
  • Norway: 12 platforms
  • Sweden: 8 platforms
  • Turkey: 6 platforms

Representative platforms

Common reference questions

What is a USV (Unmanned Surface Vehicle)?

A USV is an unmanned surface vehicle — a crewless boat or ship that operates on the water surface either autonomously or via remote control. USVs are used for naval patrol, oceanographic survey, mine countermeasures, anti-submarine warfare, logistics delivery, and environmental monitoring. Sea Drone World catalogs USVs from manufacturers worldwide.

What is an AUV (Autonomous Underwater Vehicle)?

An AUV is an autonomous underwater vehicle — a self-propelled, untethered submersible robot that carries out missions without real-time human control. AUVs are used for seafloor mapping, pipeline inspection, mine detection, oceanographic research, and military reconnaissance. They navigate using pre-programmed waypoints and onboard sensors.

What is the difference between an AUV and an ROV?

An AUV (Autonomous Underwater Vehicle) operates independently without a tether, following pre-programmed missions. An ROV (Remotely Operated Vehicle) is connected to a surface vessel via an umbilical cable and is controlled in real-time by a human operator. ROVs offer continuous power and real-time video, while AUVs offer greater range and endurance for survey missions.

What are military sea drones used for?

Military sea drones (both surface and underwater) are used for anti-submarine warfare (ASW), anti-surface warfare (ASuW), mine countermeasures (MCM), intelligence/surveillance/reconnaissance (ISR), electronic warfare, logistics delivery in contested waters, and strike missions. Examples include the DARPA Sea Hunter, Boeing Orca XLUUV, and the Ukrainian MAGURA V5.

What is the largest unmanned surface vehicle?

Some of the largest USVs include the Magnet Defense M48 at 48 meters (157 feet) with a 17,000 nm range, the DARPA/Leidos Sea Hunter at 40 meters designed for anti-submarine warfare, and the Textron MMUSV. Large USVs are typically designed for extended open-ocean missions lasting weeks to months.

How deep can underwater drones go?

Underwater drone depth ratings vary widely by design. Shallow inspection ROVs operate to 100-300 meters. Mid-range AUVs like the REMUS series reach 600-6,000 meters. Full-ocean-depth vehicles like the Kongsberg Hugin can reach 6,000 meters. Some specialized gliders and research AUVs operate at abyssal depths beyond 5,000 meters.

How many maritime drone manufacturers exist worldwide?

Sea Drone World tracks 109 manufacturers across 25 countries. Major manufacturers include Saildrone (USA), Kongsberg (Norway), ECA Group/Exail (France), L3Harris (USA), and Deep Trekker (Canada). The industry spans defense contractors, ocean technology startups, and academic spin-offs.

What is Sea Drone World?

Sea Drone World is the most comprehensive open-access reference site for maritime unmanned vehicles. It indexes 253 platforms from 109 manufacturers, covering USVs, AUVs, ROVs, UUVs, and autonomous gliders. Each platform entry includes technical specifications, manufacturer details, mission roles, and operational status. The data is freely available via the website and a JSON API.