Kraken Robotics Awarded $0.9 Million Contract by U.S. Navy

Kraken Robotics Inc. announced that its subsidiary, Kraken Robotic Systems Inc., has secured a $0.9 million contract from the U.S. Office of the Secretary of Defense, Comparative Test Office. The contract is part of the Foreign Comparative Testing (FCT) program, designed to evaluate foreign technologies for potential procurement by the U.S. military.

The agreement requires Kraken to integrate its AquaPix® MINSAS synthetic aperture sonar sensor onto a U.S. Navy man-portable Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV). This initiative will involve optimizing the MINSAS 60 sensor for smaller AUVs, aiming to enhance capability and performance on these widely deployed platforms.

Man-portable AUVs represent the largest class of AUVs globally, with ongoing investment from the U.S. Navy and its allies. Kraken's CEO, Karl Kenny, highlighted the significance of the FCT award, emphasizing the program's competitiveness and the requirement for high technology readiness levels. The company believes this contract will validate its sonar technology as a cost-effective upgrade for existing and new AUVs.

The FCT program aims to accelerate the adoption of mature, high-readiness foreign technologies to meet U.S. defense requirements efficiently. Since 1980, the program has facilitated over $5 billion in procurements from allied nations, reducing research and development costs and speeding up the fielding of critical equipment.