Norwegian maritime technology company Kongsberg Maritime has unveiled the Arctic Hunter USV, a new class of uncrewed surface vessels designed for rapid integration and deployment into hybrid fleets.
Kongsberg Maritime has adapted an existing Arctic commercial vessel design for the Royal Navy’s Type 92 anti-submarine warfare (ASW) requirement. The Arctic Hunter USV combines the company’s remote and autonomous vessel technologies with a platform designed to operate in the demanding conditions of the High North.
The vessel is based on a commercial design developed by Kongsberg Maritime, which has experience in designing vessels for commercial and government customers. The company plans to use this design as the basis for an uncrewed platform intended to support naval sensing operations in Arctic waters.
Kongsberg Maritime’s uncrewed vessel technology has received flag-state approval from classification society DNV and the Norwegian Maritime Authority. The approvals cover the technical requirements associated with the operation and control of large uncrewed offshore vessels.
According to Kongsberg, the Arctic Hunter USV is designed for construction at commercial shipyards, with military systems to be integrated by the defense industry. Its equipment includes a submarine-hunting sonar supplied by Thales UK and secure military communications systems. The vessel's payload capacity and available deck space are intended to accommodate additional or alternative mission systems.
“Atlantic security is an absolute priority, and we believe that the Arctic Hunter USV offers a robust and practical response to the growing need for additional submarine detection capability. For more than 50 years, Kongsberg Maritime has designed vessels to operate in demanding Arctic waters. Combined with our dynamic positioning, remote and autonomous technologies, that expertise provides the foundation for a commercial shipbuilding approach to delivering Type 92 vessels," Lisa Edvardsen Haugan, CEO of Kongsberg Maritime, said.
To support accelerated delivery, Kongsberg Maritime is working with its established long-term shipbuilding partner Balaena Maritime, with new ships planned to be delivered from their Birkenhead yard, ready for militarisation and operational deployment by the end of this decade.
To remind, the Royal Navy recently established the first-ever autonomous squadron, which will operate uncrewed boats in front-line operations.