Kraken Robotics has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with SEFINE SISAM, a Turkish strategic unmanned systems research firm.
Under the agreement, Kraken will work with SISAM to integrate its KATFISH towed synthetic aperture sonar into SISAM’s mission planning software and develop automatic target recognition capabilities for Kraken’s synthetic aperture sonar system.
The MOU follows an at-sea demonstration conducted earlier this year in which KATFISH was launched and recovered from SEFINE’s RD-22 unmanned surface vessel off the coast of Istanbul, validating the system’s ability to rapidly detect and classify mine-like objects and critical underwater infrastructure at high resolution in an operational environment.
Bernard Mills, Executive Vice President of Defence at Kraken Robotics, said the partnership builds on that earlier work. “We’re pleased to continue our work with SEFINE following a successful at-sea demonstration earlier this year. This partnership poises us to rapidly develop and deliver relevant capability in a region that combines industrial excellence and operational need. Together, we are advancing fully integrated, autonomous solutions for seabed warfare and mine countermeasures, enhancing the speed, accuracy, and efficiency of maritime security operations,” he said, as quoted in the press release.
KATFISH is a high-speed towed sonar system designed for mine countermeasures and seabed survey missions, capable of producing detailed acoustic imagery of the ocean floor. Synthetic aperture sonar more broadly has become an increasingly important tool for naval mine countermeasures, offering substantially higher resolution than conventional sonar at operationally relevant speeds. The addition of automatic target recognition capability is intended to reduce the analytical burden on operators and accelerate the classification of detected objects, a key bottleneck in mine hunting operations.
Turkey has invested significantly in its domestic unmanned systems industry in recent years, with SEFINE and SISAM among a number of Turkish entities developing maritime autonomous platforms for both national and export markets.
The MOU adds to a busy period for Kraken Robotics. In March 2026, the Canadian company announced the acquisition of Covelya Group Limited, a UK-based provider of underwater technology solutions whose subsidiaries include Sonardyne International, EIVA, Forcys, Wavefront Systems, Voyis Imaging, and Chelsea Technologies. That acquisition was pending regulatory approval and expected to close during the second quarter of 2026 at the time of the SISAM announcement.
