Kongsberg of Norway and Italy's DRASS unveiled a combined undersea-warfare bid at ILA Berlin, Germany's aerospace and defence exhibition, on 8 June 2026. Their pitch pairs Kongsberg's HUGIN Superior autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV, a self-navigating submersible) and HISAS 1032 synthetic-aperture sonar with DRASS's DG-900 compact submarine, a host that carries three AUVs. The two firms named 2027 as their target for AUKUS Pillar II procurement1.
AUKUS Pillar II is the advanced-capability strand of the Australia-UK-US security partnership, covering uncrewed undersea vehicles, payloads and enabling systems. Its first Signature Project naming on 30 May listed the Mission Specialist Defender Mk IV and L3Harris IVER4 900, with no British or European hull. Kongsberg and DRASS arrived ten days later to contest the platform slot the trilateral had assigned to American primes.
The DG-900 changes what is being offered. A compact submarine carrying three AUVs is a different procurement object from a torpedo-launched vehicle like the IVER4 900, and it gives navies without large attack-submarine fleets a route into seabed autonomy. The opening these two firms are reading is the same one that drew HII and Babcock to pitch their REMUS vehicles to the Royal Navy in May. Britain's nearest equivalent, BAE Systems' Herne extra-large AUV, remains in Lloyd's Register certification with no Royal Navy order2.
No money has changed hands. Kongsberg and DRASS disclosed no contract value and no customer commitment, only intent, and 2027 sits well over a year out. An air-show announcement marks where a supplier wants to compete; it moves neither hardware nor budget. The speed of the European response, rather than its maturity, is what the procurement professional should log.
