Kongsberg Unveils Arctic Hunter Uncrewed Submarine Hunter For Royal Navy’s Hybrid Fleet
Kongsberg Maritime has unveiled a new uncrewed surface vessel (USV) called Arctic Hunter for the Royal Navy’s Type 92 anti-submarine warfare (ASW) requirement.
The company launched the vessel on November 9, just ahead of this week’s Atlantic Future Forum in Oslo, where it would sign Technology Collaboration Agreements with Thales UK and Balaena Maritime.
Type 92 is part of Atlantic Bastion, the Royal Navy’s plan to pair crewed platforms with uncrewed sensors to detect and track hostile submarines. However, the Ministry of Defence said in July that platform numbers and construction schedules had not been fixed, Navy Lookout reported.
Rather than start from scratch, Kongsberg said that it has taken one of its own Arctic commercial vessel designs and adapted it for the High North, where the vessel would work from a forward support base inside the Arctic Circle to add to the existing ASW network. According to Navy Lookout, it measures 56 metres and is built for missions of up to 60 days.
Thales UK would supply the sonar and secure military communications, and the vessel’s payload capacity and deck space would let other mission systems be fitted later. The sonar model and its performance figures have not been disclosed, the publication said.
Balaena Maritime, Kongsberg’s long-term shipbuilding partner, would deliver the ships from its Birkenhead yard, ready for militarisation and operational deployment by the end of the decade. Commercial shipyards would build the hull, while the defence industry would integrate the military systems.
Kongsberg also said that its uncrewed vessel technology already has flag-state approval from classification society DNV and the Norwegian Maritime Authority. However, Navy Lookout noted that this covers the commercial technology and not a finished military version of Arctic Hunter, which would still need development and integration.
Lisa Edvardsen Haugan, CEO of Kongsberg Maritime, said that Atlantic security is an absolute priority and that Arctic Hunter is a practical response to the growing need for more submarine detection capability. She added that the company has designed vessels for Arctic waters for more than 50 years.
The company said that a Type 92 programme built around Arctic Hunter would support the Lunna House agreement, under which the UK and Norway are to lead NATO’s adoption of autonomous systems in the High North.
Source: Kongsberg Maritime press release
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