Naval Warfare

Saildrone taps retired 3-star admiral John Mustin as president

Mustin served in the US Navy for 34 years and retired in September 2024.

By Justin Katz on April 07, 2025 1:20 pm
OCS Class 07-24 Graduation with Vice Admiral John Mustin
Vice Adm. John Mustin salutes the sideboys during Officer Candidate School (OCS) Class 07-24 Graduation Ceremony. (Photo by Chief Petty Officer Joshua Montes.)

SEA AIR SPACE 2025 — Unmanned maritime systems manufacturer Saildrone, announced today it has appointed John Mustin, the retired three-star admiral and former chief of Navy reserve, as its president.

“John Mustin brings a truly unique blend of naval operational expertise and commercial experience to the company,” said Richard Jenkins, founder and CEO at Saildrone, in a statement. “As naval demand for Saildrone services grows exponentially, John will deliver the leadership firepower I need to grow both the team and the defense business, ensuring our products continue to meet the demands of high-end naval warfare.”

Mustin served in the Navy for 34 years and as the vice of commander of US Fleet Forces prior to his four-year stint as the head of the Navy’s reserve force, which ended in September 2024.

“I’m thrilled to join the Saildrone team at this critical moment for global maritime security characterized by a rapidly evolving geo-political environment,” said Mustin. “Having spent my career focused on naval operations and technology innovation, I recognize Saildrone’s capabilities are transformational to delivering naval strength to our warfighters at a time when our nation’s shipbuilding capacity is floundering. We, and our allies and partners, need high-capability platforms, delivered at scale, immediately. Saildrone defined the category and is the only operationally proven USV technology that is ready to scale today.”

Saildrone primarily manufacturers and operates unmanned surface vessels that conduct unclassified intelligence, reconnaissance and surveillance missions for the US Navy as well as a number of civilian federal agencies.

Separate from Mustin’s announcement as the company’s president, Saildrone also said today it had successfully integrated Thales Australia’s Blue Sentry thin-line towed array with its own Surveyor drone “creating a groundbreaking system for autonomous long-endurance undersea MDA.”

“The project, funded by the Office of Naval Research (ONR), marks a significant leap forward in persistent, real-time, undersea surveillance,” according to a company statement.

PHOTOS: Sea Air Space 2025

Gallery
Presented by

GA-EMS-logo

PHOTOS: Sea Air Space 2025

The Terradepth booth located outside on the Sea Air Space plaza showcased what it called its autonomous underwater submarine and Absolute Ocean platform solution. According to Terradepth, "Absolute Ocean is a secure seabed data management platform designed to enable real-time access, collaboration, and analysis of subsea data." (Brendon Smith / Breaking Defense)
Spotted at Sea Air Space 2025, Kracken's Katfish 180 is a "high speed, actively stabilized Synthetic Aperture Sonar towfish that operates at speeds up to 10 knots." (Brendon Smith / Breaking Defense)
Kongsberg was at Sea Air Space 2025, presenting a 1-1 replica of the Joint Strike Missile. The Norwegian firm says it is designed to deal with threats both on land and at sea. (Brendon Smith / Breaking Defense)
Leidos' latest unveiling at Sea Air Space 2025, the SEA DART UUV is an affordable underwater vessel that doesn't compromise on capability. It is set to tackle a variety of mission sets from military operations to scientific pursuits, the company said. (Brendon Smith / Breaking Defense)
BAE Systems BOFORS 40 MK 4 Naval Gun System can "go from warning to destruction in less than 0.5 seconds." The company said weapon, on display at Sea Air Space 2025, is automatically loaded and can be both remotely and locally controlled. (Brendon Smith / Breaking Defense)
Northrop Grumman said its SEWIP BLOCK 3, on display at Sea Air Space 2025, iterates on previous versions bringing electronic attack capabilities to defend against anti ship missiles and offers hopes of future proofing for integration with AI and machine learning. (Brendon Smith / Breaking Defense)
A surprise announcement was made by General Atomics on Day 1 of Sea Air Space 2025 regarding their new long range precision guided Bullseye Missile, a partnership with Israel Defense contractor Rafael. (Brendon Smith / Breaking Defense)
One of the busiest areas of the floor at Sea Air Space 2025 belonged to the Australian contingent at a time of uncertainty in international collaboration. (Brendon Smith / Breaking Defense)
Shield AI shows off its V Bat vertical-takeoff unmanned system at Sea Air Space 2025. (Brendon Smith / Breaking Defense)
A quadcopter unmanned aerial vehicle, the TRV-150c, sits on display at Maryland-based Survice Engineering Company's booth at Sea Air Space 2025. (Brendon Smith / Breaking Defense)
Ahead of Sea Air Space 2025, Anduril announced a new unmanned underwater system dubbed Copperhead. (Brendon Smith / Breaking Defense)
At Leonardo's booth at Sea Air Space 2025 sits a radar from its Gabbiano family of systems. (Brendon Smith / Breaking Defense)
Unmanned tech company firm Saildrone shows off its Voyager USV at Sea Air Space 2025. (Brendon Smith / Breaking Defense)
The American arm of British defense MSI-Defence Systems attended Sea Air Space 2025, displaying its MK38 automated naval gun, which is in currently in service with the Navy. (Brendon Smith / Breaking Defense)
Attendees at Sea Air Space 2025 may pass by the curiously, almost fish-like shape of Aevex's Mako Lite, what the company calls "a rugged, low-visibility" unmanned surface vessel. (Brendon Smith / Breaking Defense)
1/15
Presented by GA-EMS-logo