Anduril announces partnership with Kraken for small USVs

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — Anduril is teaming up with UK-based Kraken Technology Group to make small unmanned surface vessels (USVs) for the US Navy at a time when the service is increasingly focused on unmanned tech, the companies announced today.

“This partnership reflects Kraken’s commitment to supporting global maritime challenges with hardened operational capabilities at a critical point in history,” Kraken CEO Mal Crease said in a company press release. “Under this agreement Kraken will deliver low-cost, scalable and modular systems that are both reliable and effective.”

Anduril “will integrate payloads and Lattice autonomy software” onto Kraken’s “mass-producible USVs,” Anduril’s announcement states. The US company will make the K5 KRAKEN and K7 SABRE platforms while also sustaining and supporting the fleet domestically, while Kraken continues its own parallel production lines and create a new hull design variant for operator requirements, the announcement continues.

“Kraken is known for their proven, battle-tested platforms,” Cory Emmons, general manager of surface dominance at Anduril, said in Kraken’s press release. “This partnership expands Anduril’s family of autonomous surface offerings with small boats carrying mission payloads, adding a complementary capability to larger ASVs and the legacy fleet.”

According to the statement, the K5 and K7s will be able to carry 1,000 pound-plus payloads and be quick to manufacture.

The move comes at a time when the US Navy is increasingly focused on beefing up its unmanned capabilities. In March, the service announced it would be cancelling development of Modular Attack Surface Craft program and instead would be opening a new medium USV marketplace.

Further, Rear Adm. Christopher Alexander said at the Surface Naval Assocaition symposium in January that he expects nearly half of the surface force to be unmanned within the next two decades.

“Looking at some projections moving out over the future, by 2045 we expect about 45 percent of the surface force to be unmanned systems,” he said.