Underwater Autonomous Glider Departs for First-Ever Global Circumnavigation

Using Teledyne’s Redwing, the most advanced commercial subsea glider ever developed, the near five-year Sentinel Mission departs on October 10, 2025, following a ceremony at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), which operates the second largest glider fleet in the world.

Launched from the edge of the continental shelf south of Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, the next-generation Slocum Sentinel Glider will gather unparalleled levels of data on ocean currents, sea temperature, and their impact on weather systems and the planet. This data will help refine weather models and improve hurricane intensity forecasting. The data will also help to inform ocean policy and conservation efforts.

(Image credit: Teledyne Marine)

“This is a truly historic mission,” said Brian Maguire, COO at Teledyne Marine. “It will pave the way for a future where a global fleet of autonomous underwater gliders will be able to continuously sample our oceans. These gliders will deliver early warnings of extreme weather and will track the impact of shifting ocean currents so that we can refine long-term weather projections in a way that scientists have dreamed of for decades.

“It will also prove that long-range, next-generation, low-energy autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) are capable of carrying more complex, heavier, and increasingly energy-hungry sensors on missions that we could only have imagined previously.”

A Legacy Realized

The culmination of a vision first imagined by glider inventor Doug Webb—who pioneered autonomous ocean vehicles at Teledyne Webb Research—the Sentinel Mission serves as both a tribute to Webb, who passed away in 2024 at the age of 94, and a response to the urgent need for global ocean monitoring.

Specially built for the mission, Redwing—an acronym for Research & Education Doug Webb Inter-National Glider—will surf global ocean currents on its epic mission, gathering critical ocean data from under-sampled, remote regions of the globe. 

A Global Flight Path

Redwing’s first leg will see it ride the Gulf Stream south of Martha’s Vineyard toward Europe, before sweeping south to stop at Gran Canaria off the coast of Northwest Africa. Its next leg will take it to Cape Town in South Africa, before crossing the Indian Ocean to stop at Perth in Western Australia, then on to Wellington, New Zealand. It will then navigate the Antarctic Circumpolar Current—the most powerful current on Earth—taking it on its longest leg to the Falkland Islands. From here, there will be possible stops in Brazil and the Caribbean before heading back to Cape Cod in the US.

Redwing at depth. (Image credit: Teledyne Marine)

Providing Vital Data

Transmitting information via satellite when it surfaces every 8–12 hours, Redwing will share vital data on ocean temperature, salinity, currents, and ocean health via the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) global monitoring system. This will ensure that scientists, oceanographers, meteorologists, universities, and even schools worldwide will be able to access real-time results internationally, building interest in the mission.

Inside the Sentinel Redwing

• Built for endurance: The Sentinel Redwing is a new class of sea glider, purpose-designed for ultra-long missions across some of the harshest seas on Earth. Specially engineered with extended battery capacity and additional sensor capability, it can travel up to 15,000 kilometers on a single leg.
• Depth and performance: Redwing will dive to depths of 1,000 meters before returning to the surface to transmit data every 8–12 hours. Using only gravity and buoyancy for propulsion, it flies in a sawtooth pattern through the water, conserving energy for years-long deployments.
• Smart design: Redwing’s carbon fiber hull flexes under pressure, compressing slightly during descent, while its buoyancy is adjusted via an oil pump and pitch battery system. This ingenious design allows Redwing to “surf” rather than fight ocean currents, traveling at an average speed of 0.75–1 knots as it efficiently propels its way forward, enabling it to travel vast distances, staying deployed for longer.
• Payload and sensors: At 2.57-m long and 0.33-m in diameter, Redwing carries a payload of up to 3.5 kg, including:
  • CTD sensor (conductivity, temperature, depth/density)
  • Altimeter to avoid the seafloor
  • Attitude and compass sensors for navigation
  • And a fish monitor from Dalhousie University, tracking tagged marine life such as sharks and whales

Shea Quinn, Sentinel Mission Project Lead and Slocum Glider Product Line Manager, explained: “As we travel through the layers of the ocean, which move over and under each other in different directions, we’ll gather data on water temperature and density, and we’ll pick up pings from tagged marine life.

“We’ll be able to see what’s happening at the surface and deeper underwater, where huge patches of cold water and warm water move. This data will help us to show, for example, where a hurricane is going to go next and how intense it’s going to be. We’ll also build a better knowledge about the impact of ocean currents on our weather patterns, informing global ocean models of the future, and our understanding of long-term climate change.”

Supported by partners from Spain, Gran Canaria, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, the UK, and the US, the mission is a truly international undertaking.

Redwing components. (Image credit: Teledyne Marine)

Collaborating with Academia

Teledyne Marine engineers will work closely with more than 50 Rutgers University students at the Center for Ocean Observing Leadership (COOL), who have helped program the navigation software that will guide Redwing across the oceans. Together, they will track Redwing from their shared mission control bases and will keep it on its flight path, making necessary adjustments each time it surfaces throughout the 73,000 km journey.

“This is a pivotal moment for ocean science,” said Scott Glenn, Distinguished Professor in the Department of Marine and Coastal Sciences at Rutgers. “We’re deploying an autonomous glider that will travel the world’s oceans, gathering data. And we’re doing it with students, educators, and international collaborators every step of the way.”

Oscar Schofield, Distinguished Professor in the Department of Marine and Coastal Sciences at Rutgers, added: “There’s no doubt in my mind that this mission will not only shape our understanding of the oceans and their impact on the climate in a new way, but it will also change the future of autonomous ocean exploration.

“Fittingly, it will also realize a piece of science fiction written by Henry Strommel of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution that appeared in Oceanography Magazine in 1989. This foresaw an international race between three Slocumb Sentinel gliders to circumnavigate the globe first, and a time when there would be a fleet of underwater gliders taking part in missions around the world.”

The Sentinel Mission’s progress will be updated on www.teledynemarine.com/sentinelmission and can be followed on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/teledynemarinevehicles/