Anduril Industries and Kraken Technology Group announced a strategic partnership at the Sea-Air-Space Expo to jointly develop and deliver unmanned surface vessels for US Navy hybrid fleet programs, with Kraken’s K7 SABRE and K5 KRAKEN platforms at the center of the agreement.
Both vessels will be manufactured under license in the United States and fitted with modular payload systems designed for interoperability across US forces and NATO partners. The partnership targets upcoming Navy programs for small, fast, quick-reaction vessels — a category the service has been expanding as it moves toward a mixed crewed and autonomous fleet architecture.
What Each Company Brings
Anduril contributes autonomy software, systems integration experience, and an existing portfolio of larger autonomous surface vessels. Kraken brings the hull designs and a recent $49 million Other Transaction Authority contract from US Special Operations Command, which provides both a revenue baseline and a proof point for the platforms’ operational credibility with US military customers.
The combination addresses a gap Anduril has been explicit about: large autonomous surface vessels need complementary small-boat capability to cover quick-reaction and close-in missions that bigger platforms cannot cost-effectively perform. The K5 and K7 fill that layer without requiring Anduril to develop new hull designs from scratch.
Kraken’s international contract wins add a second dimension. Producing the vessels in the US under license positions the partnership to pursue not just domestic Navy programs but NATO partner procurement — where ITAR-compliant US manufacture is often a prerequisite for allied interoperability agreements.
The Sea-Air-Space announcement puts both companies in front of the Navy acquisition community at the moment when unmanned surface vessel program decisions are being shaped. Whether the partnership translates into a program of record award will depend on how upcoming Navy competitions are structured and whether the modular payload approach aligns with what the service actually specifies. The USSOCOM OTA gives Kraken a foot in the door with US special operations; converting that relationship into broader Navy adoption is the next milestone to watch.
