UK Royal Navy Strips Internet From K3 Scout Drones After Cameras Sent Heartbeat Signals to China

The Telegraph reported August 9 that cameras on 20 K3 Scout uncrewed vessels — a £12M fleet supplied by British contractor Kraken Technology Group and used by the Royal Marines since March for Operation Beehive — were sending 'heartbeat' signals to an IP address in China. The MoD stripped all internet connectivity from the cameras after a routine cyber vulnerability assessment; Kraken says the cameras came from a third-party vendor and no sensitive data was exposed. The drones were slated for Strait of Hormuz protection and operated near Special Boat Service headquarters in Poole. Telegraph article body not directly fetched (site blocks WebFetch); details confirmed via syndicated AOL/Newsmax/ChinaTechNews reporting.