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US Coast Guard Launches Monitor Drones on the Great Lakes

June 11, 2026

Last week, the Detroit News reported that the U.S. Coast Guard’s Great Lakes District announced the use of autonomous drones starting this month on the Great Lakes. It said the so-called “sail drones” will help support its missions on the lakes from May to October.

Anthony Popiel, the unmanned aircraft system program manager for the US Great Lakes Coast Guard District, said some drones have already been deployed on the Lakes.

“We have multiple drones in operation on Lake Erie and Lake Superior,” Popiel said in an email to The Detroit News. “We are working to deploy additional saildrones on Lake Huron and Lake Ontario in the coming weeks.”

As indicated on the US Department of War website:

The drones are wind- and solar-powered vessels the Coast Guard will use to monitor the Great Lakes, gather critical weather data for emergency response planning, “track illicit activity and keep maritime borders safe.”

The autonomous vessels are highly visible, equipped with radar, cameras and collision-avoidance artificial intelligence and monitored continuously by human operators who can take manual control if needed.

“Sail drones are equipped with sensors focused solely on maritime domain awareness, providing critical information on vessel activities, including vessels in distress or engaged in illegal operations.

In short, these autonomous systems augment the essential needs of qualified (US) Coast Guard crews operating on the Great Lakes.”

Don’t say we didn’t warn you.

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