Kraken commences K3 USV production with Rheinmetall, partners with Anduril

An image of Kraken's K3 Scout USV accompanying Rheinmetall-Kraken's announcement of series production of the K3 on 20 April 2026. The image was likely taken during a demonstration in Hamburg in March 2026. (Rheinmetall Naval Systems)

Rheinmetall Kraken GmbH has commenced series production of the K3 Scout unmanned surface vehicle (USV) at its Blohm+Voss site in Hamburg, Germany, the company said in a press release on 20 April 2026.

In the press release, Tim Wagner, CEO of Rheinmetall's Naval Systems division said that "production of the Kraken K3 Scout is initially planned for around 200 units per year. Depending on order volume, we can ramp up production to up to 1,000 units annually." K3 production is intended to address "the increased global demand for commercially available unmanned platforms of varying sizes", the press release said.

K3 is intended as a low-cost and low-signature USV featuring composite construction and diesel propulsion. The USV features a modular payload bay and can be configured according to customer requirements. The K3 Scouts in production in Hamburg are 8.5 m in length and capable of reaching speeds of 55 kt, indicating the K3 Scout Medium variant of the USV. Other versions of the USV include the 11 m K3 Scout Heavy and the 18.6 m K3 Scout Max.

K3 can be used for civilian or military tasks including intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR), logistics, search-and-rescue (SAR), survey tasks, anti-surface warfare (ASuW), counter-unmanned aerial system (C-UAS) missions, one-way attacks, and other kinetic missions.

The Rheinmetall Kraken joint venture (JV) was originally announced between German shipyard Naval Vessels Lürssen (NVL) and British company Kraken Technology Group on 22 August 2025. In September 2025, it was announced that Rheinmetall was to acquire NVL with the transition concluded on 1 March 2026.