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by dredmorbius 1 hour ago
The ones 1970-01-01 mentions are sail-driven and solar-powered. They can operate autonomously over wide-ranging areas for years.

Saildrone have produced at least 24 vessels: 20 in the Gulf of Mexico, four in the Baltic, and possibly others. There's a tender of $37 million with the US Coast Guard, and a market of $412 million as of 2024. This suggests a unit price on the order of about $10,000, which is downright cheap for any seaworthy craft.

"Exclusive: Saildrone Scores $37M BPA with USCG" <https://www.tectonicdefense.com/exclusive-saildrone-scores-3...>

"Saildrone Surveyor USV Market Research Report 2033" (2024) <https://growthmarketreports.com/report/saildrone-surveyor-us...>

My estimate may well be low. Ukraine's SeaBaby drone boats are reported to cost ~$250,000:

"Sea drones: What are they and how much do they cost?" (2023) <https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-66373052>