Chinese chips found in UK military surveillance drones, data sent to Beijing
Photo: K3 Scout (Rheinmetall)
Cameras on K3 Scout reconnaissance unmanned surface vessels used by Britain's maritime special forces were secretly transmitting information to a device in China, according to The Telegraph.
What was discovered in the K3 Scout drone cameras
The fleet of K3 Scout unmanned vessels, worth £12 million, has been used by the Royal Marines since March. During a routine cybersecurity check, it was discovered that the cameras installed on the drones contained Chinese-made components that were sending signals in the background to a device in China.
According to the publication, the transmitted data could have included images of British military personnel's faces, as well as information about training exercises and operations. There were also concerns that the drones had been near closed-door meetings of special forces leadership in Poole, and that the cameras could have recorded video even when the vessels themselves were switched off.
The Ministry of Defence has already disabled all network connections to the cameras and says there is currently no evidence that sensitive systems or data were compromised.
Impact on the mission in the Strait of Hormuz and reactions
Sources in the defense establishment told the publication that the drones had recorded material related to preparations for Britain's participation in an international maritime security mission in the Strait of Hormuz. The vulnerability has undermined confidence in the platform, and the incident was described as a serious failure in checking the origin of components.
The manufacturer of the vessels, Kraken Technology Group, explained that the cameras were supplied by a third-party contractor, which had provided assurances that they complied with NDAA standards, a US law restricting the use of Chinese equipment in defense procurement.
Following a joint audit with the Royal Navy, the company said that no sensitive information had left the intended channels and that the vulnerabilities had been fixed.
The incident dealt a blow to the Project Beehive program, under which the Royal Navy is integrating unmanned systems with traditional ships. The K3 Scout vessel is also used by US Special Operations Command and has undergone testing with NATO.
The issue of Western defense suppliers' reliance on Chinese components is not new. It was previously reported that Britain was drawing on Ukraine's experience to expand its own drone and robotics fleet, investing hundreds of millions of pounds in unmanned systems for the navy, air force and infantry.
Similar concerns over Chinese components in military equipment have also emerged regarding Russian weapons. Russia and China are increasing the exchange of data on the combat use of drones, while some Russian unmanned systems operate with Chinese artificial intelligence modules, lidar sensors and storage devices.
