Kraken Robotics Inc. announces the successful integration and demonstration of its KATFISH towed synthetic aperture sonar and autonomous launch and recovery system (LARS) from SEFINE’s RD-22 unmanned surface vessel (USV) in coordination with SEFINE SISAM (Strategic Unmanned Systems Research Center). The demonstration took place in Q1 2026 off the coast of İstanbul, Türkiye.
Kraken Robotics press release
“Recent developments underscore the importance of safeguarding critical maritime transit routes and underwater infrastructure, and autonomous mine countermeasure capabilities like KATFISH can play an important role in helping navies efficiently detect and classify mine-like objects,” said Bernard Mills, Executive Vice President, Defence at Kraken Robotics. “By combining SEFINE’s multi-role USV with Kraken’s cutting-edge KATFISH and USV LARS, navies can deploy advanced technologies faster and more efficiently, strengthening defence and maritime security in increasingly complex environments.”
The demonstration focused on rapid detection and classification of mine-like objects and critical underwater infrastructure and was attended by several navies and government organizations. KATFISH delivered 3 cm x 3 cm resolution data at a range of 200 meters per side which was live streamed to a command center onshore, enabling real-time classification of contacts by operators with SEFINE SISAM’s mission planning software.
The same KATFISH and USV LARS were demonstrated from a UK Royal Navy in-service 11-meter ARCIMS USV in November 2025. These joint integrations mark a major step forward in delivering agile, modular, and cost-effective mine countermeasure capabilities for modern naval operations.
