Kongsberg Discovery to Deliver HUGIN AUV Capabilities for the US Military

Kongsberg Discovery is excited to announce a Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) award to assist in the US Navy’s Large Displacement Unmanned Underwater Vehicle (LDUUV) prototype.

Kongsberg Discovery has been awarded a contract with the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) to rapidly deliver HUGIN Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) capabilities for the US Military. The total contract could result in the Navy acquiring HUGIN Endurance and HUGIN Superior deep-water AUV systems.

Kongsberg Discovery offers unmatched and proven Unmanned Underwater Vehicle (UUV) experience spanning over 30 years. Since the start, Kongsberg continues to develop and deliver the most successful and trusted large deep-water AUV systems for both commercial and government customers, with approximately 100 large HUGIN AUV systems delivered globally.

HUGIN Endurance, one of the newest members in the HUGIN AUV family, is the biggest and most capable with its 39’ length, 47” diameter and 15-day endurance, enabling unsupervised shore-to-shore operations over a 1,200 nm range. HUGIN Superior, the workhorse of KONGSBERG’s HUGIN AUV family and the deep-water industry standard, is a 22’ long, 35” diameter, and 70-hour endurance vehicle.

Both vehicles are tightly integrated with a suite of KONGSBERG’s proven sensors providing IPoE (Intelligence Preparation of the Operational Environment), MCM (Mine Counter Measure), SBW (Seabed Warfare), and seafloor mapping capabilities at delivery. HUGIN Endurance expands these capabilities by providing capacity for further payload integration and range. KONGSBERG’s longstanding expertise in inertial navigation, autonomy in both UUVs and USVs, battery development, and the ability to fuse sensor and payload data seamlessly, enhances productivity and cost effectiveness for the operator.

HUGIN Endurance touching the surface during operation. (Image credit: Kongsberg Discovery)

Martin Wien Fjell, President of Kongsberg Discovery, shared, “With HUGIN Endurance we are pushing the boundaries for autonomous over-the-horizon AUV operations. We are excited to bring our many years of AUV experience in support of the US Government and look forward to closely partnering with DIU and the US Navy to support making their LDUUV program a reality. HUGIN’s reliability has created a legacy and our continued evolution has enabled us to provide the expertise needed on such a program.”

KONGSBERG has been supporting the US Department of Defense (DoD) in various forms since 1892 when the Krag–Jørgensen rifle was first selected for standard US Army issue. Since then, KONGSBERG has continued to support the US DoD with products such as: NASAMS (National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System), Remote Weapons System (RWS), Naval Strike Missile (NSM), and oceanographic mapping sonars.

Headquartered in Lynnwood, Washington, KONGSBERG Discovery’s US team specializes in the delivery and integration of underwater acoustic systems, UUVs, and uncrewed surface systems, along with value-added engineering. Caitlin Hardy, President of KONGSBERG Discovery's US entity added, “Our team in the US is proud to have a long-standing relationship with US Government customers to enable acquisition of the best quality oceanographic data for the rapid creation of mission-critical information utilizing KONGSBERG Discovery’s acoustic products, considered gold standards for efficient seabed mapping and characterization. We are honored to help DIU’s efforts in leveraging best-in-class commercially available equipment with our team of UUV experts supporting here in the United States.”