Cameras on British military drones revealed to have been transmitting information to China

Cameras on British military drones were found to be transmitting data to China. The Telegraph, citing a source in the Ministry of Defense, reported that naval reconnaissance drones used by the UK's elite special forces have been secretly sending information to China.

The K3 Scout boats, designed for missions in the Persian Gulf, were equipped with Chinese-made components that secretly transmitted data to a device in China. After the data leak was discovered, the Ministry of Defense was forced to disconnect the cameras of the naval drones, which have been in service with the military since March. The drones, which cost a total of 12 million pounds sterling (about 16.2 million dollars), were supplied by the British company Kraken Technology Group, and the cameras installed on them were manufactured by a subcontractor who guaranteed their security.

According to a source familiar with the situation, the K3 drones were part of a defence package proposed by London to ensure the free movement of ships in the Strait of Hormuz. An investigation into the naval drones found that the cameras were transmitting so-called “pulse signals” to an IP address in China – data that confirms their online activity and functioning as intended. The problem was discovered during a routine assessment of cybersecurity vulnerabilities.

The Telegraph source said that “a thorough investigation has not found any evidence that classified Ministry of Defence data or systems were accessed, compromised or transferred outside the department”.

However, the situation raises concerns that China may be trying to spy on the British military. There have been serious failures in verifying the origin of the components. In addition, the drones were near places where elite personnel meetings are held. Concerns have been raised that the cameras continued to operate even after the devices were turned off.

In 2025, Britain’s MI5 intelligence service warned MPs of ongoing interference and influence efforts by Chinese intelligence agencies, including using job sites to gather classified information.

In 2020, the UK banned Chinese company Huawei from building the country’s 5G network over security concerns. Since then, a series of supply chain vulnerabilities have forced the UK Ministry of Defence to completely remove Chinese equipment and cameras from critical facilities.