Common Questions

What is Kongsberg's HUGIN AUV and why is it in the AUKUS bid?: HUGIN is Kongsberg's family of long-range autonomous underwater vehicles. The HUGIN Superior variant, paired with the HISAS 1032 synthetic-aperture sonar, forms the core of a Norwegian-Italian bid for AUKUS Pillar II seabed-warfare procurement announced at ILA Berlin on 8 June 2026.Source: Tech Times / Kongsberg press release
Did Kongsberg win any AUKUS contract?: No. As of June 2026 the Kongsberg-DRASS partnership disclosed only intent to target AUKUS Pillar II procurement from 2027; no financial terms, customer commitment or signed agreement was announced.Source: Tech Times
How does Kongsberg's maritime division make money?: Kongsberg Discovery (formerly Kongsberg Maritime) generates revenue through autonomous underwater vehicles, subsea sensors, ocean-data systems and offshore energy technology. The division reported NOK 8.1bn in revenue for 2025, with autonomous systems growing at around 18% annually.Source: Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace Annual Report 2025
Why does NATO trust Kongsberg's AUVs for seabed surveillance?: The HUGIN family has been qualified as a NATO mine-countermeasures payload on 14 separate allied programmes since 2003. Norway's defence-industrial relationship with the US also gives HUGIN preferential access to ITAR-controlled components, simplifying integration with allied systems.Source: NATO ACT Innovation Hub assessment

Background

Kongsberg, the Norwegian defence and maritime technology group, is the lead AUV supplier in a joint European bid for AUKUS Pillar II undersea-warfare procurement. On 8 June 2026 the firm announced a strategic partnership with Italian submarine builder DRASS at ILA Berlin, pairing the HUGIN Superior autonomous underwater vehicle and HISAS 1032 synthetic-aperture sonar with the DG-900 compact submarine host, and naming 2027 as the target entry point into the AUKUS procurement pipeline. The bid arrived ten days after the AUKUS trilateral named only US-built vehicles for its first seabed programme, making Kongsberg the first major non-US consortium lead to contest the hardware layer publicly.

Founded in 1814 and headquartered in Kongsberg, Norway, the group operates through several divisions: Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace covers missiles and air-defence systems, while Kongsberg Discovery (formerly Kongsberg Maritime) handles subsea sensors, autonomous vehicles and ocean-data systems. The HUGIN family of AUVs has been qualified as a NATO mine-countermeasures payload on 14 separate allied programmes since 2003, spanning Norwegian, Swedish, German and Japanese naval customers. Kongsberg's maritime division reported NOK 8.1bn in revenue for 2025, with autonomous systems growing at roughly 18% annually. Norway's defence-industrial relationship with the US gives HUGIN preferential access to ITAR-controlled components, a structural export advantage over most European competitors.

Kongsberg's cross-topic footprint is substantial. Its subsea technology and energy products divisions supply the offshore sector across the North Sea and Norwegian Continental Shelf, making the firm relevant to European energy-infrastructure debates as well as defence. The GIUK gap surveillance mission that NATO's Task Force X-Arctic launched on 6 June 2026 represents standing demand that Kongsberg's HUGIN family is positioned to address , and the firm's existing NATO integration record shortens the procurement cycle relative to newer entrants.

How the World Sees Them

Norway

Kongsberg is a national champion; the AUKUS bid is seen as an export milestone. Oslo's NATO commitment and ITAR access underpin the credibility of the industrial claim.

Australia

Canberra needs an AUV capability before SSN-AUKUS boats arrive in the 2030s; a compact-submarine AUV host like the DG-900 fills that interim gap if ITAR compatibility is confirmed.

United States

Washington views Kongsberg as a trusted partner but AUKUS Pillar II named US primes first; a European platform slot would require a new competition the trilateral has not announced.