Kongsberg equipment for Polish Navy’s next-gen minehunters

Norwegian technology company Kongsberg Maritime has been awarded a contract by Polish shipbuilder Remontowa Shipbuilding SA (RSB) to supply three shipsets of KONGSBERG HUGIN autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) systems and related high precision acoustic positioning (HiPAP) positioning and communication systems for three newbuild warships for the Polish Navy.

The total contract value is in excess of €10M, with the equipment destined for the next three vessels (#4, #5 and #6) in the Kormoran II mine-countermeasures (MCM) vessel program.

These three ships will be commissioned from 2026 to 2027. The three HUGIN/HiPAP shipsets will be delivered to the yard over the next four years to match with the new vessel delivery schedule.

This new contract follows on from previous contracts for the successful integration of HUGIN and HiPAP systems on the first three vessels in the Kormoran II program by Kongsberg Maritime and RSB.

HUGIN AUVs are marine robots offering the ultimate in autonomous remote subsea search and survey capability. These free-swimming autonomous underwater vehicles have good maneuverability and stability for high-quality data collection.

Capable of fully autonomous operations without surface vessel support, HUGIN is also designed to work in conjunction with the HiPAP family of underwater positioning and navigation systems. This allows for high-accuracy position updates for the vehicle, as well as real-time communications for status, sensor quality assurance and on-the-fly mission replanning.

The non-magnetic steel hull Kormoran II class is designed for minehunting in Poland’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ), with task forces in the Baltic and North seas. The vessels are intended to provide substantial increase of Polish MCM capabilities, doubling the number of existing Kormoran II type vessels in service, to secure the sea lines of communications.

The Kormoran II class minehunters have a full load displacement of 850 tonnes, an overall length of 58.5m and can carry a crew complement of 45, with accommodation for seven additional personnel.

The RSB’s own in-house design is a multi-toolbox concept, hybrid solution, minehunter where HUGIN AUV is one of underwater systems for stand – off mine countermeasure operations.

Commenting on the contract award, Kongsberg Maritime SVP Stene Førsund said: “We see that customers put AUVs into operation in many applications, and we believe that autonomous underwater vehicles will be used in even more applications in the future.”

Dariusz Jaguszewski, CCO at Remontowa Shipbuilding said: “These mine countermeasure vessels represent an important contract for Remontowa Shipbuilding as well as an important statement and reinforcement of Poland’s national security in a fast-changing world. Kongsberg Maritime has already successfully delivered and commissioned HUGIN and HiPAP systems to us for the first three vessels in the Kormoran II program.”