KNDS and SeaOwl agree to develop an armed surface drone with a 30 kg warhead, 35 knots and 200 km range

TLDR

• KNDS and SeaOwl signed an agreement on 3 November to develop an armed surface drone with a KNDS warhead.¹
• The companies cite 35 knots, a 30 kg payload and up to 200 km range; no order has been announced.¹²
• SeaOwl says it is in talks with potential clients in Europe and the Middle East.²

KNDS says it and SeaOwl Technology Solutions signed a strategic cooperation agreement at Euronaval 2026 on 3 November to develop and test an unmanned surface vehicle (USV) for offensive and defensive missions, using a qualified warhead developed by KNDS.¹ Reuters reports that the companies launched the vessel as a "suicide surface drone" for navies seeking protection against drone attacks on ports and vessels, with KNDS producing the 30 kg explosive payload and SeaOwl building the unmanned vessel.²

According to KNDS, the vessel reaches a maximum speed of 35 knots, carries a 30 kg payload and has a combat range of up to 200 km, with optimised radar and optical signatures and a "fully cyber-secure architecture" with a protected firing chain.¹ KNDS says it can navigate autonomously in contested areas, but that the decision to engage and fire rests exclusively with the remote operator.¹ Zone Militaire (Opex360) reports the project as "TRACUS Combat", repeats these figures as the companies' own, and links the vessel to SeaOwl's TRACUS training solution, which uses fleets of 5 to 20 autonomous drones to reproduce attack tactics.³ None of the three sources reports test results for the vessel.¹²³

SeaOwl Technology managing director Mathieu Glade told Reuters the drone can be deployed in swarms and launched from heights of up to seven metres using a dedicated launcher, becoming operational within seconds, or deployed without one.² He said that facing an incoming drone targeting a major port or oil terminal, the most effective response is "another surface drone capable of moving extremely quickly to intercept and counter it", that the solution is more sophisticated than the surface drones Ukraine currently produces, and that Aselsan is among its competitors; he added that the company is talking with potential clients in several European and Middle Eastern countries.² Zone Militaire places the agreement in the context of the French Navy's call for a "choc de dronisation", noting the DANAE autonomous armed surface drone programme, for which three industrial offers including SeaOwl's Nemezis were selected, and the SMOKERS naval loitering munition effort.³

Why it matters: the agreement covers developing and testing a vessel, and the speed, payload and range figures are the companies' own, with no test results or order published; according to Reuters, SeaOwl is positioning it for port and vessel defence against drone attacks and is in talks with potential clients in Europe and the Middle East.¹²³