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

Royal Navy spy drones found sending signals to China as security fears grow  lbc.co.uk

The cameras would not turn off even after the drones were shut, were privy to high-security meetings, and were transmitting information to a Chinese IP address.

MoD scrambles to deny reports Royal Navy spy drones sent data to China in secret  GB News

Questions are now being asked over the UK government's bid to thaw relations with China, but Ministry of Defence officials have insisted no sensitive data was leaked

The K3 Scout drones, operated by Royal Marines, were found to be transmitting so-called 'heartbeat' communications to an IP address in China.

The breach is expected to spark wider concern about the security of military drone components.

The £12 million fleet was supplied by British defence contractor Kraken Technology Group, which sourced the cameras from a third party that had given security assurances.

The drone incidents in Europe have ignited fears that Moscow's war on Kyiv is now entangling NATO nations.