Kraken Technology Group
British autonomous maritime systems company that won the Royal Navy's £12.3m Project Beehive contract to build 20 K3 SCOUT uncrewed surface vessels.
Last refreshed: 29 May 2026 · Appears in 1 active topic
Can Kraken's K3 Scout boats actually detect and neutralise mines in Hormuz?
Timeline for Kraken Technology Group
Built Project Beehive K3 SCOUT USVs ordered under £12.3m contract for the Hormuz force package
Autonomous Systems: Land & Sea: Robot minehunter now sails for Hormuz- What is the Kraken K3 Scout and what does it do?
- The K3 Scout is a crewless surface vessel built by Kraken Technology Group in the UK, used for mine-hunting, surveillance and reconnaissance. Twenty were ordered by the Royal Navy under the £12.3 million Project Beehive contract.Source: UK Defence Journal
- Why did the Royal Navy choose Kraken for Project Beehive?
- Kraken won a £12.3 million contract in March 2026 to supply 20 K3 Scout USVs to the Royal Navy as part of Project Beehive, the service's first sizable uncrewed vessel fleet, now deployed in the Lyme Bay force package.Source: UK Defence Journal
- How many Kraken USVs are sailing toward the Strait of Hormuz?
- Twenty Kraken K3 Scout USVs are part of the RFA Lyme Bay force package that departed for a potential Strait of Hormuz mine-clearance mission in May 2026.Source: Naval News
- Is Kraken Technology Group building USVs in Canada?
- Yes. Kraken and Quebec's Davie shipbuilder announced a strategic collaboration on 28 May 2026 to produce Kraken autonomous solutions, including the K3 Scout, on Canadian soil.Source: Naval News
Background
Kraken Technology Group is the British company behind the K3 Scout uncrewed surface vessel (USV) that forms the Royal Navy's Project Beehive fleet. In March 2026 the Royal Navy awarded Kraken a £12.3 million contract for 20 K3 Scout USVs, and those boats are now part of the RFA Lyme Bay force package that sailed toward a potential mine-clearance mission in the Strait of Hormuz. The First Sea Lord singled out Project Beehive by name when delivering the Royal Navy's autonomy doctrine at the Combined Naval Event on 19 May 2026.
Kraken's USVs carry sensors rather than crew: the K3 Scout is a platform for intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and mine-hunting payloads, working in coordination with the larger crewed mothership. The company expanded its reach on 28 May 2026, announcing a strategic collaboration with Canadian shipbuilder Davie to produce Kraken autonomous solutions, including the K3 family, on Canadian soil.
For the wider defence autonomy market, Kraken's position is that of a specialist integrator able to put uncrewed hulls into contested littoral environments at a fraction of the cost of a crewed warship. The Hormuz deployment is its most visible operational test to date.
