Bundeswehr unveils Seetaube maritime drone developed on Stark’s Vanta platform
Drone Industry
The Bundeswehr has unveiled the new Seetaube uncrewed surface vessel, which the German company Stark fully developed and delivered to the German Armed Forces.
The project was commissioned by the Cyber and Information Domain Service Command (Kommando CIR) in partnership with the Cyber Innovation Hub of the Bundeswehr. The Vanta platform served as the basis for the new uncrewed surface vessel (USV).
Seetaube is a nearly six-metre USV equipped with cameras, radar and other sensors. It is designed to enhance the Bundeswehr’s maritime reconnaissance capabilities, particularly by locating signal sources. The vessel can be used as an additional mobile platform for cross-bearing measurements and can also carry out pre-planned missions autonomously.
Seetaube is one of the first uncrewed surface vessels ever acquired by the Bundeswehr. Vanta, Stark’s uncrewed maritime vessel, provided the technological foundation for the new system.
Vanta was tested during the international REPMUS and NATO Dynamic Messenger exercises in Portugal. For nearly a month in the Atlantic, the drones performed various missions daily: escorting high-value targets, monitoring ports, conducting reconnaissance of contacts beyond direct line of sight, and carrying out nighttime ISR patrols.
The development of uncrewed maritime systems is also important for countering Russia’s shadow fleet—a network of vessels that Russia uses, among other purposes, to circumvent international sanctions and continue exporting oil. Such vessels often have opaque ownership structures, sail under third-country flags, and may conceal or manipulate data about their location. This complicates maritime traffic monitoring and creates additional risks to maritime security and critical infrastructure.
"Modern maritime threats require new approaches to monitoring and controlling the maritime domain. Autonomous platforms can maintain a permanent presence at sea, reduce the burden on crews and rapidly transmit information for decision-making. This is one of the key advantages of uncrewed systems. These are precisely the technologies Europe needs today to strengthen maritime security," said Maksym Cherkis, COO of Stark in Ukraine.
