United States Special Operations Command has selected the United Kingdom's Kraken Technology Group for a new wave of autonomous maritime systems, awarding the Fareham-based company an Other Transaction Authority agreement worth up to 49 million dollars to push uncrewed surface and subsurface vessels from experimentation toward operational use. According to Kraken and several defense industry outlets, the multi-year effort will focus on prototype platforms that exploit advanced composites, low-observable hull forms, and modular payload bays so that the same core drone can be reconfigured for intelligence collection, discreet logistics, or support to direct action missions in contested littoral waters. Read more.
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| The K4 Manta positions itself as a hybrid surface and subsurface platform, directly aligned with the orientation of the OTA awarded by USSOCOM (Picture source: Kraken) |