Spanish Navy Adopts SEAD 23 Unmanned Surface Drones

The Spanish Navy has officially commissioned the USV SEAD 23 unmanned surface vessel into its unmanned fleet.

According to a statement published on the Spanish Navy’s official Facebook page, the new drone has been assigned to the CEVENTA unit (Centro de Evaluación de Vehículos No Tripulados de la Armada), which is based at the naval base in Rota.

The handover took place on December 9, 2024, and represents another step forward in the Navy’s adoption of innovative platforms for reconnaissance and maritime operations.

The USV SEAD 23, developed by the Spanish company Seadrone (Zelenza Group), was designed from the ground up as a dedicated unmanned maritime platform rather than an adaptation of an existing vessel.

Its dimensions are 6.95 meters in length, 2.32 meters in width, with a draft of 1.2 meters.

The platform is powered by a diesel engine producing approximately 240–250 horsepower and uses a Hamilton waterjet propulsion system, enabling speeds of up to 33 knots and autonomous operation for several days.

The SEAD 23 is built on a modular architecture, allowing the integration of a wide range of payloads, including sensor systems, electronic intelligence and communications equipment, and in the future, components for combat or specialized missions.

The Spanish Navy stated that operator training is already underway, and the platform will take part in an experimental training campaign in 2026, during which new concepts of operation and interaction with ships and other unmanned platforms will be tested.

Militarnyi previously reported that the Spanish company Indra is developing the VALERO multi-role airborne weapons system, capable of carrying out both reconnaissance and strike missions.

The system consists of a VAM jet-powered aerial vehicle in a cruise-missile form factor, an LSC ground launch system, and a command-and-control post.

Launches are planned to be conducted both from ground-based launchers and from the air—for example, from the Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jet.