Norway’s Kongsberg Maritime has launched Arctic Hunter, an uncrewed surface vessel it is proposing for the Royal Navy’s Type 92 anti-submarine warfare programme. No selection has been made, and the vessel would be built in Birkenhead, England, if chosen.
Announced in a press release on 9 November, Arctic Hunter is adapted from a commercial fishing vessel design built for demanding Arctic conditions. It is designed for missions of up to 60 days, operating from a support base north of the Arctic Circle. Its role is to provide continuous sensor coverage alongside existing anti-submarine systems in the High North.
Thales UK would supply the submarine-detection sonar and secure military communications. Kongsberg Maritime said its uncrewed vessel technology has already been approved by classification society DNV and the Norwegian Maritime Authority.
Balaena Maritime would build the vessels at its Birkenhead yard, ready for military fitting and operational use by the end of the decade. Kongsberg Maritime will sign technology cooperation agreements with Thales UK and Balaena this week at the Atlantic Future Forum in Oslo.
Chief executive Lisa Edvardsen Haugan said: “Atlantic security is the highest priority.” The company also presented the proposal as supporting the Lunna House agreement, under which the U.K. and Norway are to lead NATO’s use of autonomous systems in the High North.
A company spokesman told Defense News the concept envisages a flotilla of 10 ships based west of the Bear Gap. The Ministry of Defence said in July that platform numbers and construction schedules for Type 92 had not been determined, according to Navy Lookout.
