UK Navy forced to strip out internet connectivity from drones after finding
it sent 'heartbeat communications' to China

Date:
Tue, 11 Aug 2026 17:05:00 +0000

Description:
British Navy drones fitted with Chinese-made camera parts were found secretly sending signals back to China, prompting sovereignty concerns.

FULL STORY ======================================================================Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Threads Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter Navy drones secretly sent signals to China for several months Kraken admits it lost confidence in its own drone platform Chinese-made camera parts were fitted without proper
origin checks The Royal Navy has stripped internet connectivity from a fleet of K3 Scout surveillance drones after cameras were found sending signals to China.

A routine cyber vulnerability assessment uncovered so-called heartbeat communications passing between the drones ' cameras and an IP address located in China. The vessels, used by the Coastal Forces Squadron and 47 Commando, form part of a 12 million fleet purchased since March 2026. Latest Videos
From TechRadar Watch full video here: Cameras kept transmitting despite assurances Kraken Technology Group, the British defence contractor that supplied the K3 Scout drones, sourced the cameras from a third-party manufacturer based overseas.

The company had reportedly given assurances about the security of those components before they were ever fitted onto the vessels. You may like UK tests robot boat that can fly its own wired drone even in 14ft waves and stay at sea for weeks Autonomous AI Russian 'Molniya' drone could be using the Nvidia Jetson Orin platform by exploiting a common COTS loophole 3D-printed drones built on a US Navy ship for the first time, potentially opening a
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We are aware that some third-party, NDAA-compliant cameras had a small number of components originating from outside the UK, said a Kraken Technology Group spokesman.

After a full audit by both Kraken and the Royal Navy we are confident no sensitive information has ever been shared outside of intended channels and any potential vulnerabilities have been identified and closed. Are you a pro? Subscribe to our newsletter Sign up to the TechRadar Pro newsletter to get
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Despite that reassurance, Kraken later admitted that checks on the origin of the components had failed and confidence in the platform had been lost entirely.

The Ministry of Defence maintained that its own networks and systems had not been affected by the discovery in any way.

"A thorough investigation found no evidence of MoD data or systems being compromised," said a spokesman for the Ministry of Defence. What to read next Tiny European chips power thousands of lethal Russian drones, and almost nobody can stop this Chinese firm selling stealth 'core technology by the kilogram' to make drones almost invisible to radars spray-on coating is almost affordable by F-117 standards, slashes reflected radar power by 50%
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The K3 Scout, designed to carry a 600kg payload and operate continuously for 30 days, has also been bought by the US Special Operations Command.

It has also taken part in a series of Nato trials in the Baltic Sea alongside allied navies from the region.

The drones also formed part of a future defence package offered to help
secure movement through the Strait of Hormuz. Concerns grow over supply chain security The breach has renewed scrutiny of the Government's drone
procurement strategy, which is backed by a 5 billion investment pledge.

The government has promised to make defence purchasing "unashamedly pro-Britain," yet the case shows how deeply Chinese-made components remain embedded in British-labelled military hardware.

British officials argue that sovereignty itself is called into question when the origin of components inside military equipment cannot be fully
guaranteed.

If we cannot say with confidence what is inside our own military equipment,
we cannot say it is ours, or that we are sovereign, said Alicia Kearns, the shadow security minister.

When cameras built on Chinese parts are found recording our special forces their faces, training and operations we should not be surprised, we should
be furious that we still havent woken up to the realities of the threat we face.

The episode follows years of warnings about Chinese components inside sensitive British infrastructure, including the eventual removal of Huawei equipment from the 5G network .

However, the Labour Government is trying to rebuild economic and diplomatic ties with Beijing and some ministers even visited Shanghai earlier this year.

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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/pro/uk-navy-strips-internet-connectivity-from-drones -after-finding-it-sent-heartbeat-communications-to-china


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