Canadian defence firm Kraken Robotics staged a demonstration in Turkiye of its Katfish towed synthetic aperture sonar using an uncrewed surface vessel (USV) and an autonomous launch and recovery system (LARS).
The company, headquartered in Canada but with offices in North America, South America, and Europe, staged the demo in waters off Istanbul using the RD-22 USV developed by Turkiye’s Sefine Shipyard and domestic defence firm Aselsan.
The system is designed to be used for a variety of mission types including mine countermeasures (MCM) and critical undersea infrastructure (CUI) protection.
Executive Vice President of Defence at Kraken Robotics Bernard Mills commented: “Recent developments underscore the importance of safeguarding critical maritime transit routes and underwater infrastructure, and autonomous mine countermeasure capabilities like Katfish can play an important role in helping navies efficiently detect and classify mine-like objects.
“By combining Sefine’s multi-role USV with Kraken’s cutting-edge Katfish and USV LARS, navies can deploy advanced technologies faster and more efficiently, strengthening defence and maritime security in increasingly complex environments.”
The demonstration, attended by representatives of several navies and government organizations, showcased the successful integration and demonstration of the Katfish sonar with Sefine’s RD-22 USV. As per Kraken, the sonar system delivered 3cm x 3cm resolution data at a range of 200 meters per side, live-streamed to an onshore command centre.
The firm staged a similar demonstration of the Katfish sonar and LARS on a U.K. Royal Navy Atlas Elektronik UK ARCIMS (Atlas Remote Combined Influence Minesweeping System) USV in November 2025.
- You can read more details on the Kraken Robotics website