Autonomous surface drones are increasingly becoming the focus of navies and security authorities. They are seen as flexible platforms for reconnaissance, surveillance and the protection of critical infrastructure – in both military and civilian scenarios.
In order to meet the growing demand, the Bremen-based NVL Group and the British technology company Kraken Technology Group have now founded the NVL Kraken joint venture.
The plan is to build up production capacity at NVL’s Blohm+Voss site in Hamburg. In addition to the existing capacities in England, the aim is to equip the German and European markets in particular more quickly. Production is scheduled to start in the fourth quarter of the current year.
NVL is expanding its portfolio
With this merger, NVL is expanding its portfolio to include the interaction of manned naval vessels and unmanned platforms. “The joint venture with Kraken gives us the opportunity to respond quickly to the current requirements of our customers and to provide market-ready autonomous systems quickly and in large quantities,” said NVL CEO Tim Wagner. As an example, he cited the concept design for the drone mother ship ‘NTV130’, which is intended as the successor to the six Elbe-class tenders.
Kraken contributes its expertise in the development of powerful and cost-efficient unmanned systems. “The collaboration with NVL enables exponential scaling of production and supply chain,” emphasized Mal Crease, CEO of Kraken Technology Group.
NVL has already acquired shares in Kraken and plans to increase these in the fourth quarter of 2025. Both companies have announced that they will invest significantly in the development of the joint venture.
According to the partners, the current threat situation requires innovative solutions that meet the operational tactical requirements of the armed forces. In the future, navies will operate much more in a network of manned and unmanned autonomous systems (manned/unmanned teaming). In future, NVL will be able to offer complete solutions consisting of manned, complex naval units and autonomous, individually configurable operational systems.
