Kongsberg Maritime Unveils Arctic Hunter USV for Type 92 Bid

Kongsberg Maritime has unveiled the Arctic Hunter, a large uncrewed surface vessel designed to give the Royal Navy additional anti-submarine warfare capability in the High North. The company is proposing the 56-meter56-meter vessel for the Royal Navy’s Type 92 program, pairing a proven Arctic commercial hull with Thales UK sonar and Kongsberg’s remote- and autonomous-operation technology. If selected, Balaena Maritime would build the vessels in Birkenhead, ready for militarisation and deployment by the end of the decade.

 

A Commercial Design for a Naval Requirement

 

Kongsberg Maritime has adapted one of its proven commercial Arctic vessel designs, originally developed as a fishing vessel for harsh northern conditions, to meet the Royal Navy’s Type 92 anti-submarine warfare requirement. The approach reflects the company’s long experience designing commercial and government ships for demanding Arctic waters. Using an established hull reduces design risk and shortens development time compared with a clean-sheet naval design. Kongsberg says the platform is built to be robust enough for uncrewed military sensing in the High North.

The concept responds to the Royal Navy’s move towards a hybrid fleet that combines crewed warships with uncrewed vessels and systems. Under this model, uncrewed platforms take on persistent, dull, or dangerous tasks such as long-duration monitoring. Crewed ships are then freed for higher-value missions. Arctic Hunter is designed to slot into that structure as a dedicated sensing asset for submarine detection.

 

Sonar, Communications and Autonomy

 

Thales UK will supply sovereign submarine-hunting sonar and secure military communications for the vessel. The partners have not named the specific sonar model or released detailed performance figures. The vessel also offers substantial payload capacity and deck space, allowing other or additional mission systems to be fitted over its service life. This flexibility is intended to keep the platform useful as threats and technologies change.

Kongsberg’s uncrewed vessel technology has already received flag-state approval from classification society DNV and the Norwegian Maritime Authority. The company says these approvals show it can manage the complex engineering and platform control needed to run large uncrewed offshore vessels safely. As Navy Lookout notes, however, the approvals cover Kongsberg’s commercial uncrewed technology rather than a completed Arctic Hunter military configuration. That configuration would still need development and integration.

 

Operating Concept in the High North

 

Arctic Hunter is designed to operate from a forward support base inside the Arctic Circle and to carry out missions of up to 60 days at sea. Its role would be to provide persistent sensing that adds to the existing network of anti-submarine warfare assets in the region, including frigates, maritime patrol aircraft and submarines. Long-endurance uncrewed vessels can maintain watch over wide areas for extended periods at lower cost than crewed ships. This makes them well suited to monitoring submarine activity in the strategically important waters of the North Atlantic and Arctic.

Kongsberg Maritime Chief Executive Lisa Edvardsen Haugan said Atlantic security is an absolute priority and described Arctic Hunter as a robust and practical answer to the growing need for submarine detection capability. She said the company’s more than 50 years of experience designing vessels for Arctic waters, combined with its dynamic positioning, remote and autonomous technologies, underpins a commercial shipbuilding approach to delivering Type 92 vessels. The announcement was timed ahead of the Atlantic Future Forum in Oslo. That conference brings together defense leaders and policymakers to discuss Euro-Atlantic security.

 

Read More: https://oceaneconomist.com/articles/novi-partners-atlantas-marine-acquisition

 

Building at Birkenhead

 

To speed up delivery, Kongsberg Maritime is working with its long-term shipbuilding partner Balaena Maritime. If the design is chosen, Balaena’s Birkenhead yard, formerly Cammell Laird, would build the vessels. The plan is for commercial shipyards to build the hulls quickly, with defense companies then integrating the military systems. This split is intended to use commercial shipbuilding speed and cost efficiency while keeping sensitive military integration with specialist firms.

Kongsberg will sign technology collaboration agreements with Thales UK and Balaena Maritime during the Atlantic Future Forum. The agreements are designed to strengthen industrial cooperation between the UK and Norway and support skilled jobs in both countries. Building in the UK also adds to the proposal’s appeal to the Royal Navy, given the government’s emphasis on domestic shipbuilding. The partners are targeting readiness for militarisation and deployment by the end of the decade, subject to Royal Navy requirements.

 

UK-Norway Cooperation and NATO Relevance

 

Kongsberg says a Type 92 program based on Arctic Hunter would support the Lunna House agreement, under which the UK and Norway aim to lead NATO’s adoption of autonomous systems in the High North. The two countries already cooperate closely on Arctic and North Atlantic security, including monitoring Russian submarine activity. A shared uncrewed platform could deepen that cooperation in both operations and industry. It would also strengthen the case for common standards across allied fleets.

The partners see wider export potential across NATO and the Joint Expeditionary Force, a UK-led grouping of northern European nations. Demand for persistent undersea surveillance has grown as allies focus on protecting subsea cables, pipelines and other critical infrastructure. Several companies are now competing to supply uncrewed vessels for these roles, including rival bids for the Royal Navy’s hybrid fleet. Arctic Hunter’s commercial basis and UK build plan are its main selling points in that contest.