German shipbuilding group NVL and British drone boat specialists Kraken Technology are teaming up to develop a range of uncrewed platforms for naval and civilian uses — including a potential “drone mothership” solution for the German Navy.
The new NVL Kraken joint venture is looking to tap into the fast-growing market for autonomous uncrewed platforms in both the commercial and military sectors.
British-based Kraken Technology Group, which traces its roots back to offshore racing, was founded at the start of the decade and produces high-performance, low-cost, scalable, modular sea-going platforms.
Its current range includes the K3 Scout uncrewed surface vessel (USV), a boat which comes in various configurations of up to 18.6 metres in length, with a top speed of 55knots and payload capacity of up to ten tonnes, which can be used for ISR or strike missions.
It is also developing the K4 Manta hydrofoil, an uncrewed surface subsurface vessel (USSV) capable of surface transit and underwater running. It too comes in various sizes, the largest of which is 16.5m long, has a top speed of 60 knots, and a five-tonne payload.
On top of this is the firm’s forthcoming K5 Kraken, a 65-knot gunship with a crew of four armed with guns, missiles and torpedoes.
German shipbuilder Naval Vessels Lürssen (NVL) is an independent, privately-owned group of renowned northern German shipyards and related companies and is also pioneering research and development in autonomous naval surface platforms.
The two firms’ vision is for NVL to offer complete solutions consisting of crewed naval vessels in combination with autonomous configurable systems provided by the new NVL Kraken joint venture, leveraging NVL’s experience with constructing complex naval vessels and Kraken’s expertise in delivering small, fast and robust uncrewed systems.
The joint statement said the joint venture could start manufacturing systems before the end of 2025.
The press statement from the two firms noted: “The Anglo-German joint venture intends to rapidly scale up manufacturing capacities for autonomous surface vessels at NVL’s shipyard Blohm+Voss in Hamburg, Germany on top of the already existing capacities in the U.K. to provide a range of products to the German and European market.
“Through this joint venture, NVL is expanding its capabilities as a leading German shipbuilding group and system integrator, specialising in the construction of complex naval vessels to include interaction between crewed naval vessels and autonomous uncrewed platforms.”
CEO of NVL Tim Wagner commented: “The joint venture with Kraken offers us the opportunity to rapidly react to the latest requirements of our customers and to provide market-ready autonomous systems quickly and in high volumes.”
He added: “At the same time, by taking this step, we are expanding our role as a pioneer in the development of manned/unmanned teaming (MUM-T) concepts and are creating the right conditions for launching additional innovative solutions in this field.
“This also includes, for instance, our design concepts for the naval tender vessel NTV 130 as a drone mothership that could succeed the six tender vessels (the ELBE class) currently operated by the German Navy.”
Describing NVL as the “gold standard” of maritime production Mal Crease, CEO of Kraken Technology Group said: “We are honoured to partner with NVL as we expand our ability to provide fully sovereign, autonomous maritime capabilities to our Allied nations.
“Working with NVL will allow exponential scaling of production and supply chain to meet growing threats through deployment of high-performance, multi-role, mass capabilities across our seas.”
- You can read more details on the NVL website and the Kraken Technology website