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DG-900
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DG-900

DRASS compact submarine; carries three HUGIN AUVs as host platform in the AUKUS Pillar II bid.

The DG-900 is DRASS's compact submarine, built to carry and recover up to three HUGIN Superior underwater drones, offered as the launch platform in Europe's AUKUS Pillar II bid unveiled on 8 June 2026.

Last refreshed: 24 July 2026 · Appears in 1 active topic

Key Question

Will ITAR rules block DRASS's compact submarine from entering the AUKUS programme?

Timeline for DG-900

#3 8 Jun

Proposed as the manned host platform carrying up to three AUVs

Autonomous Systems: Land & Sea: Europe bids for the AUKUS seabed
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Background

The DG-900 is DRASS's compact conventional submarine, sized to carry and recover autonomous underwater vehicles rather than to fight as a front-line attack boat. It sits within DRASS's DG-series, which ranges from one-person swimmer-delivery vehicles up to this larger, mission-configured design.

Unlike a nuclear attack submarine, the DG-900 needs no nuclear propulsion, making it suited to navies that cannot operate nuclear boats but need AUV-launch capability, and its smaller displacement reduces, though does not eliminate, the acoustic signature that launch-and-recovery operations generate regardless of host-vessel size.

The platform's near-term prospects turn on an unresolved question rather than its engineering: whether US technology-transfer rules will permit a non-AUKUS-nation submarine to enter AUKUS-funded procurement at all.

Common Questions
What is the DRASS DG-900 compact submarine?
The DG-900 is an Italian compact conventional submarine built by DRASS that carries up to three autonomous underwater vehicles. It forms the host-platform element of the Kongsberg-DRASS AUKUS Pillar II bid announced at ILA Berlin on 8 June 2026.Source: Tech Times / Kongsberg-DRASS press release
How does the DG-900 differ from the US submarines in the AUKUS programme?
The DG-900 is a compact conventionally powered submarine designed to launch and recover AUVs, not a nuclear-powered attack submarine. AUKUS Pillar I covers SSN-AUKUS nuclear submarines; the DG-900 targets the Pillar II AUV host role and is sized for navies awaiting those nuclear boats in the 2030s.Source: AUKUS Pillar II structure analysis
Could Australia buy the DRASS DG-900 under AUKUS?
Possibly, but ITAR compatibility has not been confirmed. AUKUS procurement involves US-controlled technologies; a DG-900 purchase with programme funding would likely require a technology-transfer waiver from Washington that has not been publicly addressed.