DRASS
Italian compact-submarine builder; DG-900 provides the AUV host platform in Europe's AUKUS Pillar II bid.
Last refreshed: 13 June 2026 · Appears in 1 active topic
Can DRASS's compact submarine break into an AUKUS programme designed around US vehicles?
Timeline for DRASS
Partnered with Kongsberg to provide DG-900 compact submarine as AUV host platform
Autonomous Systems: Land & Sea: Europe bids for the AUKUS seabed- What does DRASS make and why is it relevant to AUKUS?
- DRASS builds compact submarines and hyperbaric systems. Its DG-900 compact submarine, which carries up to three autonomous underwater vehicles, is the host platform in the Kongsberg-DRASS bid for AUKUS Pillar II procurement announced at ILA Berlin on 8 June 2026.Source: Tech Times / Kongsberg press release
- How does a compact submarine host AUVs differently from a large attack submarine?
- The DG-900 is designed specifically for AUV launch-and-recovery missions; it does not need the torpedo tubes used on full-size attack submarines. This makes it accessible to navies like Australia's, which lack nuclear-powered boats, while waiting for SSN-AUKUS boats expected in the 2030s.Source: Kongsberg-DRASS partnership analysis
Background
DRASS, the Italian manufacturer of submarines and hyperbaric systems, is the compact-submarine partner in a joint European bid for AUKUS Pillar II undersea-warfare procurement. On 8 June 2026 the firm announced a strategic partnership with Kongsberg of Norway at ILA Berlin, contributing the DG-900 compact submarine as the AUV host platform for a system that also includes Kongsberg's HUGIN Superior and HISAS 1032 sonar. The DG-900 carries up to three AUVs and offers navies without large attack-submarine fleets a route into seabed autonomy before nuclear-powered boats arrive. No contract value or customer commitment was disclosed.
DRASS (DRASS Galeazzi Group) is headquartered in Livorno, Italy, and specialises in the design and manufacture of small submarines, diving systems and hyperbaric chambers. Its DG-series ranges from one-person swimmer-delivery vehicles to the DG-900, a compact conventional submarine capable of AUV launch-and-recovery operations. The firm's engineering base draws on Italy's submarine-technology heritage and the broader Fincantieri industrial ecosystem. DRASS has historically supplied special-operations and research-platform markets where large conventional submarines are impractical.
The AUKUS context makes DRASS commercially significant beyond its specialist niche. Australia's interim capability gap between now and SSN-AUKUS delivery in the 2030s creates demand for compact AUV hosts that no AUKUS nation currently produces. Whether the DG-900 can enter AUKUS procurement depends on ITAR compatibility review, which neither DRASS nor the three AUKUS governments has publicly addressed.
