SOF Week 2026: USSOCOM’s British-made uncrewed surface/subsurface vehicle takes the stage
StoryMay 21, 2026
Flavia Camargos Pereira
Military Embedded Systems
SOF WEEK 2026--TAMPA, Fla. The K4 MANTA uncrewed surface and subsurface vehicle (USSV) -- developed by U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) and robotic-vessel maker Kraken Technology Group -- conducted multiple demonstrations at the SOF Week 2026 exhibition in Tampa, underway now.
In 2025, USSOCOM awarded the company an Other Transaction Authority (OTA) agreement to support the rapid development and prototyping of hybrid surface and subsurface vessel technologies.
Under this deal, Kraken is now in the process of developing a tailored K4 MANTA uncrewed vehicle that fits Special Operations needs. Kraken chief commercial officer Erica Dill-Russell noted that the system has an open architecture and can be fitted with multiple sensors and technologies, enabling the platform to conduct diverse types of missions and tasks.
“It really depends on what you want the platform to be able to do. The sensor suites are associated with a particular operational use case and can be swapped out,” she asserted. “There are multiple operational use cases for it in a littoral sense also in open water.”
The system is transportable by air, land, and sea and can be autonomously launched and recovered from shore or at sea. The company says that its attributes enable the platform to be forward-deployed worldwide. Some of its mission sets include contested logistics, counter-UxS, surface and antisubmarine warfare, electronic warfare (EW), and maritime domain awareness operations.
With its reduced-signature design, this USSV has been built to endure shock and vibration while maintaining its stability. It can operate independently, as part of a swarm, or as a node in a larger networked hybrid force that can also submerge for covert infiltration, persistent reconnaissance, or loitering roles.
In terms of sensors, it features E/O, radar, and sonar capabilities using an Auterion operating system, which enables it to transit over and below the surface. It can also be fitted with kinetic and nonkinetic effectors.
At SOF Week, Kraken Technology Group is also demonstrating its K3 SCOUT, the company’s commercial-ready product. Designed to be a low-signature and high-performance USV, it can support multiple maritime operations.
In operation with the British navy, this capability has been selected for the branch’s Project Beehive programme in 2025. The formal contract with the service was finalized in March 2026 and covered the delivery of 20 platforms.
Dill-Russell stated that the company's USVs are being deployed to the Strait of Hormuz to support maritime-security operations in the region.
