Royal Navy drones ‘secretly sent data to China through spy cameras’

Craig Munro | Senior Politics Reporter Published August 10, 2026 9:57am Updated August 10, 2026 9:57am The Kraken K3 Scout high-performance Autonomous Surface Vehicle (Picture: John Keeble/Getty Images) Cameras fitted to drones that were used by the Royal Marines secretly transmitted data to China, according to reports. The Daily Telegraph said components in the K3 Scout surveillance drone, used by the UK’s special forces since March, had been sourced from a third party by defence contractor Kraken Technology Group. Those cameras were made in China, the newspaper said, and the Ministry of Defence had to remove their internet connectivity after discovering information was being sent to a Chinese IP address. It added that an investigation found the cameras had been sending ‘heartbeat communi