According to a PR published by Kraken on February 14, 2023, the British maritime technology company announces the signing of a partnership agreement with Leonardo, a global high-technology company in Aerospace, Defence, and Security.
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Black Scorpion mini torpedo system. (Picture source: Leonardo)
The partnership reflects several areas of collaboration and development starting with the integration of Leonardo’s Black Scorpion mini-torpedo system into the K50 KRAKEN platform to enhance its sub-surface domain capability.
The collaboration continues with the opportunity to integrate a broader range of Leonardo systems into future Kraken platforms, including LIONFISH® to provide defence and Anti-Surface Warfare (ASuW) capability.
The K50 KRAKEN is a first-of-its-kind, fully-integrated, maritime precision engagement fast-boat platform, designed to provide effective swarmed-strike response to littoral water threats.
The K50 is heavily weaponised, combining the latest defence and maritime technologies to best effect in the protection of sovereign green-water infrastructure and interests. Additional Kraken platforms are under development and will benefit from the forward-looking nature of this agreement.
The Black Scorpion is a cost-effective and highly-flexible technology designed to facilitate the engagement of sub-surface threats in challenging operational scenarios, while LIONFISH® is Leonardo’s lightweight and compact new family of small calibre naval turrets, usable in a broad set of applications and available in both 12.7mm and 20mm versions.
About the Black Scorpion
It is designed for use in shallow waters, with the capability to operate at depths ranging from 30 to 200 meters. The torpedo can be launched in AIR mode, making it highly versatile and effective against conventional submarines and midgets.
The Black Scorpion has a highly resistant structure and is capable of resetting its search depth and exploder activation mode during the launch phase. It also has the ability to set sea surface searches cut out for collision against the quick works of small/medium tonnage watercraft.
The torpedo has a maximum speed of over 15 knots and has enough payload capacity to counteract its targets and abort missions. An exercise version is also available, allowing for training and simulation of torpedo launches without the use of an actual weapon.
