7OCT

Kraken trials a Saab radar picket boat

1 min read

12:59UTC

Kraken Technology Group took an 8.4m robot boat carrying a Saab UK Giraffe 1X radar to sea on 5 and 6 October, as an unarmed early-warning picket against aircraft and drones.

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Key takeaway

Kraken is turning its small robot boats into hosts for Saab radar and Shield AI software.

Kraken Technology Group, the British maker of fast uncrewed boats, sea-trialled an 8.4m hull carrying a Saab UK Giraffe 1X radar on 5 and 6 October⁠¹. The boat is meant to sit out ahead of a fleet as an unarmed early-warning picket, watching for aircraft and drones. Kraken says it went from concept to prototype in under seven months⁠².

On 28 September Kraken also announced a coordinated USV mission with Shield AI, the US autonomy-software firm, in Portsmouth⁠³. Kraken is becoming a host for other firms' sensors and software. Putting a radar rather than a missile on a small hull is the cheaper way to give a warship more warning: a picket that is spotted and destroyed costs a boat, not a crew. The Ministry of Defence's own uncrewed plan, by contrast, centres on four far larger hull classes.

Deep Analysis

In plain English

Warships use radar to spot incoming aircraft and drones. A picket is a small lookout craft placed ahead of a bigger group so it sees threats first. Kraken, a British boat maker, tested an 8.4m uncrewed boat with a Saab radar mounted on it on 5 and 6 October. It has no weapons. Its job would be to give early warning without risking sailors.

Deep Analysis

Root Causes

Radar sees further the higher it sits, and an 8.4m hull is low. That short radar horizon limits how early a boat this size can see a low-flying drone.

Kraken did not build the radar. Saab UK supplies the Giraffe 1X, a radar sized for small platforms, and Kraken supplies the hull and control. The firm has since also announced work with Shield AI, an autonomy-software company.

What could happen next?

Opportunity
A cheap unarmed picket gives a navy a way to extend sensor cover around a port or ship group without crewing another vessel.
Risk
A picket far from its group may be the first thing an adversary targets, as at Okinawa.

Sources:Baird Maritime·Naval News·Baird Maritime

Mentions:Kraken Technology Group →Saab UK Limited →Giraffe 1X →Shield AI →Portsmouth →US Navy →Saab →UK Ministry of Defence →United Kingdom →Okinawa →

First Reported In

Update #13 · US Navy orders 30 robot boats from 3 yards

Baird Maritime· 7 Oct 2026

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