Exail has received a contract to provide “several hundred” K-Ster unmanned underwater mine disposal vehicles for multiple naval forces.
The order is valued at 40 million euros ($46.8 million) and serves as the company’s second-largest contract with the drone ever recorded, following an award worth 60 million euros ($70.2 million) from NATO in August 2024.
According to the French company, production of the fleet will be conducted at its Ostend center in Belgium, which opened in 2022 and continues to increase production in support of international mine countermeasures programs.
Based on the K-Ster’s functions, future users are expected to utilize the drones in the final stage of minehunting missions.
Each will act as a “consumable” asset prepared to be destroyed during operations.
The K-Ster System
Exail’s K-Ster underwater drone is designed to launch from warships, small support boats, and ground-based mine countermeasure centers.
It has a length of 1.5 meters (5 feet), a width of 50 centimeters (20 inches), and a weight of 50 kilograms (110 pounds).
The platform travels up to 6 kilometers (4 miles) per hour, dives up to 300 meters (984 feet), and covers a range of 2,000 meters (6,562 feet).
