A maritime drone hunter has been developed in Britain that can detect UAVs within a 75-km radius
Saab UK and Kraken have developed an autonomous maritime drone designed to protect shipping and critical infrastructure from UAV attacks. The new prototype combines state-of-the-art radar with an autonomous maritime platform to detect and counter aerial threats.
According to the developers, the new system was created in less than seven months.
“We developed the new drone in collaboration with Kraken in less than seven months. This demonstrates the strength of our partnership, the maturity and flexibility of our technologies, and our ability to respond quickly to the evolving threat landscape and customer needs,” said Andy Fraser.
The new prototype is based on the integration of the Saab Giraffe 1X radar with the Kraken K3 Scout autonomous maritime platform.
According to Andy Fraser, this combination enables the creation of a system capable of detecting and countering unmanned aerial vehicles.
The Saab Giraffe 1X radar has a range of up to 75 kilometers. The system can simultaneously track and illuminate several dozen air targets.
The developers describe the Giraffe 1X as a lightweight 3D radar designed to detect and track airborne threats in real time.
Integrating the radar with an autonomous maritime platform is intended to enable the use of unmanned vessels to protect maritime routes and critical infrastructure from airborne threats.
Saab and Kraken believe that this new development is a step toward realizing the concept of hybrid naval forces, in which autonomous vessels can operate alongside traditional assets.
Thus, the maritime drone is designed to combine the autonomy of the Kraken K3 Scout platform with the capabilities of the Saab Giraffe 1X radar, creating a mobile platform for detecting air targets in a maritime environment.
This was announced by Andy Fraser, Managing Director of Saab UK.
As a reminder, the French Air and Space Forces plan to conduct a full-scale test in 2028 of fighter jets operating alongside combat drones. The test will be part of the Hypairion project, under which France is developing an open, modular combat aviation architecture and artificial intelligence technologies under state control.
Ukraine and Germany have signed an agreement to deepen cooperation in the field of countering drones. According to Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Germany will make greater use of the Ukrainian experience gained during the war, and German and Ukrainian companies will continue to work together on new technologies.
