Overview
- Kraken Technology Group and Saab UK completed sea trials of a K3 SCOUT uncrewed surface vessel fitted with a Saab Giraffe 1X radar on Monday, demonstrating a sensing‑only prototype described as a 'drone seeker'.
- Both companies say they moved from concept to a working prototype in under seven months, but they have not released trial data, detection ranges or named any customer.
- The Giraffe 1X is a lightweight 3D air‑surveillance radar with a quoted instrumented naval range of about 100 km, yet mounting the antenna less than 2 m above the waterline sharply reduces practical detection range because of the radar horizon and littoral clutter.
- Operational limits highlighted by the trials include platform motion, spray and green water that can affect antenna hardware, plus the need for secure, high‑bandwidth data links so the USV’s radar picture can be shared with crewed ships or port authorities.
- The work builds on existing UK procurement of both systems and Kraken’s recent $175 million funding round that aims to scale production, and it suggests a near‑term path to using low‑cost USVs as forward sensor pickets if technical and integration challenges are solved.