- Cameras on Royal Navy K3 Scout surveillance drones were discovered to be sending "heartbeat communications" to a system located in China according to The Telegraph.
- The transmissions reportedly only confirmed the camera's online status and normal functioning, but the incident has sparked wider concerns regarding the security of military drone components.
- The Ministry of Defence (MoD) said that the issue was identified during a "routine cyber vulnerability assessment" and said that a thorough investigation found no evidence of MoD data or systems being compromised.
- The K3 Scout drones are manufactured by the British company Kraken Technology Group, though the cameras themselves were supplied by a third party that had given security assurances.
- The Royal Navy has purchased 20 K3 drones for its Operation Beehive project, planning to use them for various tasks including surveillance and force protection.
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