Rheinmetall presented a surface drone in the Port of Hamburg. During the demonstration, the Federal Government’s Maritime Coordinator announced increased funding for maritime research and federal guarantees for shipyards. The measures are intended to strengthen the shipyard industry, which is considered important for Germany’s security.
Last August, Naval Vessels Lürssen (NVL) and the British technology company Kraken Technology Group founded a joint venture. The aim of the cooperation is to develop and build unmanned, autonomously operating surface systems.
One such system was presented for the first time today in the port of Hamburg: the “K3 Scout Medium”. However, the vehicle was no longer presented by NVL, but by Rheinmetall. Following the takeover of the Lürssen Group’s naval division, it has officially been operating under the name Rheinmetall Naval Systems for around a week now.
The unmanned systems are produced on the Blohm+Voss site. According to Tim Wagner, CEO of Rheinmetall AG’s Naval Systems division, around 200 units per year could be produced in the near future. The company currently has 150 drones under contract. The customers are NATO navies. In the future, annual production of up to 1,000 of these unmanned surface drones is conceivable. At the same time, the number of employees at the site could also increase from around 650 at present to around 1,000.
Drone with dual-use function
The systems presented are so-called dual-use vehicles. They can be used both for military purposes and for monitoring critical infrastructure. To enable this flexibility, the surface drones have a modular design and can be equipped accordingly depending on the mission profile. Rheinmetall is also currently working on technologies that will enable the systems to be produced faster and in larger quantities in the future.
The Kraken drone now presented is 8.4 m long and 1.93 m wide. Powered by a diesel engine, the vehicle can reach speeds of up to 55 knots. Depending on the mission profile, the system can remain in use for up to a year, according to the company.
In order to further expand the capabilities of the systems and to enable autonomous use in conjunction with other vehicles in the future, Rheinmetall has set up a development platform together with partners, including Anschütz. This acts as a so-called real-world laboratory where technologies for autonomous driving, sensor integration and collision avoidance are tested, among other things.
Ploß pledges support from the federal government
Rheinmetall could receive increased support from politicians in the future for the further development of such technologies. The German government’s maritime coordinator, Christoph Ploß, announced at the presentation that maritime research programs would receive more funding in future. In addition, the aim is to ensure that technologies developed with taxpayers’ money remain in Germany and flow into industrial production here.
At the same time, Ploß emphasized the “enormous importance” of the maritime industry for Germany’s security. The Federal Government is clearly backing shipbuilding. Without efficient shipyards, the country’s maritime security would be at risk. Against this background, the Federal Government had decided to include shipyards in the major federal guarantees in future. The aim is to strengthen Germany as a shipbuilding location and thus ensure the country’s security. It is also intended to prevent orders from migrating abroad, for example to Asia.
